


The Daughter's Fate

by Anna_Marie



Series: Daughter of Dionysus [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Attempt to Overthrow the Gods, Bad Parents, Dianacentric, F/F, F/M, Flirting, High School, IDK what my mind was doing when I wrote this, Kidnapped! OC, M/M, Madness, Mental Illness, OC centric, Other, Separation, Torture, Weird brother
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2017-09-17
Packaged: 2018-07-19 23:27:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 21
Words: 98,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7381786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anna_Marie/pseuds/Anna_Marie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Diana has been kidnapped by Ares and is across the country. Being tortured by her brother and siblings, she plans to escape but Ares has other plans for her. With her fate fastly approaching, will they succeed in finding her before it attacks? Content warning: abuse, dark themes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Reunion

Dae's POV

Dust. That's the first thing that I breathe in. I start coughing and move my hands to cover it up, but I find that my hands are tied behind my back. This alarms me.  
What happened? I think to myself. I move my feet to find my ankles also bound by rope. I stick my tongue out, or try, only to find a weird cloth in my mouth; a dusty gag. I try to open my eyes, finding that someone put a blindfold over them.  
Then it hits me like a ton of bricks. The dance; meeting Martin's new boyfriend; getting that text from Aelix; and finally, getting abducted by Ugene. I remember him placing a cloth over my mouth and nose, a weird powder entering my lungs, hearing Patrick's voice, then passing out.  
I hear footsteps coming towards me. I just realize that I am lying down on my side against a wall. The steps sound like they are coming down a hall. I hear a door open and close soon followed by multiple sets of footsteps coming toward me.  
"So how long does the sleeping powder last?" Ugene asks. I hear his foot tapping impatiently.  
"It depends on how much powder you put on the cloth." Patrick replies.  
"When is the truck coming?" Ugene asks. I can feel his eyes on me, checking for any movement one doesn't do when sleeping.  
"Anytime now. The truck is going to be a lot easier- less security than the airport"  
They took me into an airport? How did they get on the plane? I think  
"I have to say, I actually was surprised that my sister could fit into your suitcase" Ugene sounds impressed. Patrick chuckles.  
"She is a small one, isn't she?"  
"Yet so important to master Ares plan..."  
Pat cuts him off with shushing. "Remember, the code names! Aaron Warrell is going be quite pleased. You do remember your role, Ugene?"  
"Take her, break her, and remake her. Simple" he sounds bored.  
Break me? Physically or mentally?  
"Well, the fate of all Dionysus should kick in soon, so the breaking part will be easy." pat pauses.  
"What part of the fate did you get?"  
I hear some shuffling, and then Patrick says:  
"Ah, so you got the drug part..."  
A gross smoke enters my nose causing me to start breathing through my mouth.  
"Yup. I hope that Diana gets the drug part as well- seeing that she is immune to alcohol intoxication, that wouldn't have any effect on her. Although, if she gets the insanity part, it could get interesting..."  
Ugene trails off. I feel something blow against my face, and soon breathe in smoke. I cough earning a snicker from my brother.  
"Pat, did you know that Diana can create drugs at the snap of her fingers and is immune to human drugs? I find it fascinating!" Ugene's footsteps come closer. I flinch a bit when he grabs my wrists and holds my hands up.  
"Cigarette please" he orders. Sure enough, I create one. Patrick shifts to, I'm guessing, cross his arms.  
"Huh. That might come in handy." I hear a small buzz, like a phone, and Patrick orders:  
"Put out that cigarette, grab her and let's go- the truck is here!"  
Patrick's steps recede, I hear a sizzling noise, then arms around me bridal style. I get lifted off the ground and the slight motion of bouncing must mean that Ugene is jogging. He must have placed my head near his face because I feel him breathing. It smells like mint and smoke.  
"I know you might be still sleeping and not able to hear me, but I want you to know that I won't let anyone else harm you," he whispers into my ear. If it was Aelix, Cole, Ammon, Derrek, or even Ajax or Mark I would believe them. But I don't believe Ugene.  
"Mom is going to meet you in a few hours, along with her husband, our step-father. Now little sister must not run away because it's useless to try to run back to camp- we are in Denver Colorado," I feel him kiss my forehead and with a bucket of will power I suppress the urge to shiver.  
"And there is no way your friends can find you!" Ugene sounds happy, but not like regular people happy. I mean evil-sadistic-devil kind of happy.  
Ugene stops jogging. Judging by what I feel, he just hoisted himself into a truck. He sets me down on the floor, but puts my head on his lap. Someone else gets in, the doors shut, and the engine starts.  
"Patrick, is there any way to wake her up early?" Ugene asks. He starts stroking my head. He takes out my hair elastic, freeing my curls. Then my brother starts brushing his fingers through it.  
"One second..."  
I hear him snap his fingers.  
"Huh. Hypnos' sleeping powder must have worn off. Diana is sleeping naturally," Patrick emotionless tells Ugene. Ugene shakes me violently.  
"WAKE UP!!!" he yells in my ear. The blindfold is lifted. I act like I have just woken up- trying to yawn but finding the gag; attempting to stretch but discovering that my hands and feet are bound. Although I don't have to act horrified when looking down and seeing that I'm not in my dress anymore. I am in grey short-shorts, a grey tank top, and grey converse. Ugene smirks. I move my mouth, wanting to talk but am being held back by the gag. Ugene takes it off.  
"What do you want from me?" I ask. Ugene smiles his devil smile.  
"We want you and your powers to be on our side. And by bringing you home, we will train you properly and you will attend school with me," Ugene informs me.  
"First of all, I will never join you. Second, how am I going to do well in school when I have ADHD and Dyslexia?!"  
"Patrick has created a potion to help with the ADHD and Dyslexia. It has one catch though..."  
Ugene pulls out a suitcase from under the seat.  
"Roll onto your stomach," My younger brother orders. I shake my head 'no'. This only gets me in trouble; Ugene pins me to the ground and flips me so that I am on my stomach. I feel a stinging sensation in my back that soon turns into a throbbing pain.  
"There- now read this," Ugene throws an envelope at me. I reluctantly pick it up and open it while getting into a sitting position.  
"This is my birth certificate?!" I say in amazement and awe. It has:

Name: Diana Agatha Summers  
Mother: Wanda Agatha Summers  
Father: MIA

It has other stuff on it, but those are the only things I can pay attention to. I know that Dionysus left before I was born, but I have always thought that I was an Envis.  
"So who was my adopted mother?"  
Ugene shrugs, so Patrick answers.  
"She was your aunt. It just so happened that she had a miscarriage one month before you were born. Since Dionysus already had so many boys, and he thought you were one, he made a deal with Aaron Warrell that you would be a part of his experiments. Luckily you got Dionysus blood instead of Ares or mine. Anyways, Wanda didn't want you going to some random person’s house so she made a deal with them both that she could have you back when she wants. Since her cousin had the miscarriage, she gave you to her," he explains.  
"Why was Envis mean to me?" I ask quietly but still audible.  
"She was jealous of her cousin."  
I yawn- despite how long I've been asleep. Ugene looks at me with concern.  
"Is little sister tired?" he inquires with concern. I shake my head, not wanting to be vulnerable. Then again, I am tied up.  
"Really? You look awful," Ugene unbuckles his seat belt.  
"Gee, thanks," I dryly remark but then yawn again. Ugene moves so that he is lying next to me. Since the space in the back is so small, he makes it so that I am partially lying on top of him, and so that I have to cuddle into him for comfort.  
"You can go to sleep if you want- I don't mind," Ugene whispers while stroking my hair. A blanket floats to us from the front. I have to admit, I am tired despite the 'nap' I had. I give-in to him.  
"Any funny business and I swear Ugene I will find a way to snap you in half!" I say with as much vigor as I can. Ugene chuckles.  
"Alright sissy, no funny business. Scouts honor" he does the scout sign. I try not to laugh at the thought of Ugene being a Boy Scout.  
Ugene places a kiss on my forehead; I shiver.  
"Are you cold sister?" Ugene asks with a genuine concern- it startled me a bit. Without any answer from me, my brother pulls the blanket up over us. I close my eyes and truly sleep.

When I wake, the truck is parked. I find that Ugene isn't by my side, and I am untied. I sit up with a new sense of alert; this is my chance to get away! I quickly check to see if Ugene or Patrick is near. I sigh; the coast is clear.  
I stretch a bit before jumping over the seats to the doors. Unfortunately, I have a slight tendency to be a bit clumsy. My foot slams against the car alarm, and I fall into the joystick, my side screaming in pain. Looking down I see why; the gear shift has some spikes. I take the covering out of my side, but don't find any blood. It hurts like heck, I let out a scream of frustration, and it gets drowned out from the car alarm. MARM MARM MARM. Oh crap; I just blew my cover! I think while sitting back on my knees. I go to open the door on the passenger side but it opens before I can. I lose my balance and fall out of the truck. A hand grabs my upper arm and pulls me up in a not-so gentle manner.  
The alarm suddenly stops. I look to see Ugene staring down at me.  
"I go to the bathroom for FIVE MINUTES and you manage to hurt yourself and cause the alarm to go off!" Ugene tries to look pissed, but ends up laughing his head off.  
My side and knees start to throb. Ugene and Patrick lift me up and I know that they are going to throw me into the back. I try to fight them, but the both of them together against me is hard. I still try, but they work together to somehow pin me to the seat. My brother pins me down with his body while Patrick ties up my legs and arms. After that, they hoist me up over the seats. Ugene comes back, ties me to the chair back here, and then sits in the passenger side. As if nothing happened.  
"Patrick?" I say. It pains me to know that he is an evil demigod and that my mom actually dated him. I mean my aunt. Patrick is just about to start the car, and looks back at me.  
"Why?"  
He smirks. Pat turns, puts his key in ignition, and smiles at me through the mirror.  
"In due time- but first you must be hungry- you haven't had any food since the day of the dance," as if on cue, my stomach rumbles.  
"You got a beast in there" Ugene chuckles. I roll my eyes at him.  
"Ugene, please feed her- that's partially why we came to the gas station," Patrick orders. Ugene hops over the seat with a bag in his hand. Before offering me food, he grabs a bottle of wine, opens it, and pours some on my skinned legs. He pours a bit on his hand then applies it to the part of my rib cage that got bruised and slightly indented. I recoil at his touch and Ugene looks at me funny. He doesn't speak on it; just grabs the bag of food with a disappointed gleam in his eyes.  
"What would you like to have? We got yogurt, pudding, gummies, cookies, and some juice."  
I glare at him but answer yogurt. He takes out a cup of yogurt, a spoon, looks at me and smiles menacingly.  
"What?" I spit at him. He puts some yogurt onto the spoon. Ugene moves it like an air plane.  
"Here comes the plane!" he says in that annoying high pitch voice that mothers use when trying to get their child to eat. I try to grab the spoon from him, but am reminded that my hands are tied. Ugene makes plane noises with his mouth, and tries to force the spoon into my mouth.  
"If you untie my hands, I can eat myself," I remind Ugene, slightly annoyed.  
"Only if Pat puts a spell on you so that you will stay in your seat unable to move anything but your arms, mouth and diaphragm," he looks at Pat "but I also want to bond with sister, so he won't do that."  
Ugene looks at me with an evil gleam in his eye.  
"So are you going to let the plane in for a landing?”  
I don't know if it is because I am tired from constantly retaliating or because I am super hungry, but I let Ugene feed me. The yogurt is peach passion fruit-my favorite- and pleases my stomach. After I finish Ugene puts away the yogurt container and spoon, then just sits and glares at me. After a while, I start to get creeped out.  
"Why are you staring at me?" I ask paranoid. He smirks.  
"I don't know anything about you... So let's play a game!" Ugene looks at me like I am a new toy that he got for Christmas.  
"What game?" I ask cautiously.  
"So every time that you don't answer a question, I will take off a piece of clothing of yours. This will be fun!"  
I look at him in horror.  
"First question- what's your favorite color?"  
Seems easy and not too bad.  
"Purple," I tell him.  
"What's your favorite food?"  
"Pizza"  
And it goes on. He asks me easy questions- like what my favorite movie/book, favorite singer/song- it isn't until he starts asking super personal questions that I start not wanting to answer.  
"What's the farthest you have gone in a relationship?"  
I am reluctant to answer, but I do.  
"French kissing"  
Ugene smirks.  
"What size are your clothes?"  
I shoot him a suspicious glare.  
"Why do you want to know?"  
"well, you currently have no clothes at the house," Ugene smiles.  
"Medium pants, large shirt, size 7 shoe," I tell him. He makes a 'keep going' gesture.  
"I told you my sizes, therefore answered your question," I firmly state. Ugene gets in real close.  
"Not everything- looks like I am going to have to check" he smirks while his eyes rake my body. He reaches out his hand and a deep evil laugh erupts from inside him. Just before his hands reach me, I kick him as hard as I can in the crotch. Looks like he forgot to tie my legs to the chair. Ugene falls to the ground in pain muttering a word that sounds like 'duck'.  
"We are here!" Patrick announces before turning off the ignition. He glances back at us. Patrick chuckles, his eyes going from me to doubled-over Ugene. I smile in satisfaction.

Patrick decides that he should escort me to the house instead of Ugene, seeing how our last encounter ended with me defeating him. Patrick grips my upper arm with an iron fist, something that I'm surprised he can do. Then again, he IS a child of Hecate. Anyway, he practically drags me up the rest of the driveway, up the front steps, and before entering the house, Patrick spins me to face him.  
"I have to warn you, your mother is a bit..." he struggles for the word "how can I say this?"  
"A bit over excited to meet her daughter?" Ugene offers. He stands as if he has to go pee; I give off a little chuckle.  
"A bit is an understatement," Patrick says. He knocks on the big white door to the mansion of a house. We wait for two maybe three minutes until the door swings open. I am too shocked to even gape at the woman standing before me. She has short, shoulder-length curly black hair. She is Sandra's height, has yellowish-brown skin like Martin, piercing green eyes, bright red lips, and she looks as if she works out. She is wearing an apron and has a bit of unidentifiable substances staining it. She is wearing jeans and a graphic tee. She looks at Patrick with a hopeful glance.  
"Is this my daughter?"  
Patrick nods. She looks me up and down.  
"You sure do look like your father don't you?" she laughs "and what on earth are you wearing?"  
"We picked her up from a dance at the camp I told you about. We didn’t have any other clothes than her current ensemble" Patrick reminds her. She laughs again.  
"Right, right I remember now! Come in, come in," she moves so that we can get by. When I enter the house, I gawk; it's like those houses that you see rich people in movies.  
"Ugene, good gods, are you having urine problems again?" I hear my mother say. I chuckle a bit.  
"Now Diana," Patrick says next to me. I look at him "there aren't enough bedrooms for you to have one so you will sleep in the basement. We have a blow-up mattress, an empty bookshelf, and a dresser down there currently. Until you go shopping, you will have to wear either your mother's clothes or Ugene's. Martin's and mine wouldn't fit you," Pat explains  
I look at him skeptically.  
"This is a mansion Patrick, how are there no rooms?" I ask. He smiles menacingly. He swiftly walks over to an intercom system. Patrick pushes the button, and says:  
"guys and gals, your long lost cousin is here."  
Just like a herd of elephants, footsteps vibrate from the stairs. A big group of people emerges from the stairs. They stop and stare at me, sizing me up. I look at the group; it isn't just kids, its adults too. One of the guys my age steps forward.  
"You're Wanda's daughter?" he asks. He has the infamous black curly hair but is 6ft 4' and looks like he does a lot of sports. All I can do is nod. He approaches, puts his hand out to shake, but when I go to shake his hand, he pulls me in to a hug. He lifts me out of my high heels, carries me into a more open area, and I soon find myself on the bottom of a dog pile. I can just breathe.  
"Welcome back to the family," one of the closer ranged ones says.  
"Thanks" I wheeze out.  
"Come on guys, you're crushing the poor girl!" I hear my mother say. I then notice how I am BURIED, that's how tiny I am.  
"WELCOME TO THE FAMILY!!!" they all cheer. With some effort, they all get off of me and the last two help me up. I brush off the wrinkles in my dress; five cousins come over, grab me by the arms, legs, and waist, pick me up and carry me up the stairs. I hear some complaints from the male cousins but none actually follow us.  
“Where are you taking me?" I ask the girls. They laugh. "I can walk you know!" that doesn't help my situation. They finally set me down on a bed and without my consent, strip me down to the undergarments. I self-consciously pull a blanket over myself. The girls cast a strange look to me but then go on to doing what they are doing. Two are looking through the dresser, two are taking measurements of me and the last is guarding the door. The two measuring don't do anything that I don't approve of.  
"So what is your shirt and short size?” One of them asks. She looks like a younger version of my mom but with some tattoos and a totally different style. I tell her; she measures my arm and leg.  
"She probably will fit into Lana's clothes" she says.  
"Really? She looks too skinny and short to fit into her clothes," one of the girls at the dresser says.  
The other girl who is taking measurements pulls out my braid (which I am surprised at how well it held) and measures the length of my hair. She has the green eyes but has bleached blonde hair and a soft face.  
"Your hair is really long. I could play with it all day," she tells me. I look at the group.  
"Can you, um explain why you girls ambushed me like this?" I ask.  
"We assumed that you were like us. Then again, you haven't been with us. Our family is a very.... Comfortable and relaxed family. Hell most people downstairs wouldn't mind if you went downstairs like you are now."  
"Some would even prefer it," one of the girls says from the dresser. They all chuckle while I gulp nervously.  
"Anyways, Quincy, you wouldn't mind offering some clothes to Danielle here, right?" the bleach blonde says to the other girl measuring. This girl is the definition of punk. She has a skull necklace, a leather jacket, an eyebrow and nose piercing, some ripped up jeans, and a shirt that says "death by society" on it.  
"It's Diana," I correct her. Quincy smirks at me.  
"If she can find anything she likes."  
The two girls smile at each other before giving me a bathrobe. When we open the door, a group of male cousins are there. Not expecting them, I scream and jump back a bit. They all laugh.  
"Man, not used to the family!" one of them calls. I flush a deep red while allowing the group of girls to lead me down to another room. I choose a suiting shirt that says "too cool for normal" and a pair of purple skinny jeans. They decide to straighten my hair.  
One hour later, my mother calls up.  
"Supper family!"  
The cousin I have come to know as Paige (bleach blondy) goes to the door.  
"Almost done straightening Diana's hair!"  
"Why ARE you girls dolling me up?" I question.  
"So that you can feel welcomed into the family, silly!" the younger version of my mom, Lizzie, says.  
Yeah, being molded into a cousin that fits your standard is definitely making me feel welcomed into the accepting family, I almost say but decide to keep my mouth shut.

All of the male relatives gawk when I come downstairs, especially Ugene. They quickly snap out of their trance and all sit in the dining room. The table isn't big enough for everyone, the reason I am now sitting on the couch with Paige, Lizzie, Lana, Quincy, and some of my male relatives. My mother made some sort of Italian pasta that allows me to stuff my mouth. Just before I can take my second bite, Ugene comes over and scoops up my plate. I object and follow him into the kitchen.  
"Hey! Ugene, I was eating that!" I angrily exclaim. He dumps it into the garbage.  
"I know; you were eating when you weren't supposed to. Bad sister!" Ugene turns back to me. I swiftly walk up to him so that I am face to face (which is more like face to chest) with him. I swiftly backhand him and make for the door down the hallway. A rush of adrenaline surges through my body; I swing open the door and race out onto the sidewalk. I look from left to right, looking for a way out. I see the car. I run up to the car, look inside to see a wonderful sight: Patrick left the keys in. I hop to the front seat just before a pack of family members come rushing out. Ugene's pissed off face is the last one I see before pulling the car out of the driveway.  
I laugh hysterically while driving away; I did it! I escaped!  
They are terrible at keeping someone captive, I think while turning out of the neighborhood.  
After about 5 minutes on the road, the 'check engine' light starts flashing. Groaning, I pull into the nearest gas station to fill the tank. I don't see him until he is a meter away. I feel my muscles tighten, not having loyalty to me anymore. Patrick picks me up and throws me into his own car with a tear running down his face.  
"Diana, why? Now you have our whole family wondering what the heck you were doing!" he yells.  
"Could you alter the mist so that they heard me say I was going out for a jog or something?" I ask weakly. Patrick thinks about this.  
"I suppose... Since your mother is a mortal, I could alter the mist and then explain that you were feeling overwhelmed. Actually I could tell everybody that!" he looks at me with an impressed look on his face.  
"Well thinking Diana!" the drive back is really awkward. Patrick keeps looking at me with sideways glances. It is really bugging me.  
"What?" I snap at him. A vial of blue liquid appears on my lap; I feel him release my arms from the spell he has on them.  
"Drink that liquid and I will let you go for a run, so that it is partially true," he looks at me with a begging expression.  
"Why?"  
"I don't want to lie," he painfully admits. I practically piss my pants laughing.  
"Since when does the great all-mighty Patrick Nealson who can capture the most powerful Dionysus kid NOT want to lie?" and then it clicks. "You truly love Ugene, Martin and I's mother, don't you?"  
He looks at me with a pain in his eyes that I haven't seen him show... Ever. I don't know if it is because I feel bad for him, or because I really just want to go for a run, but I down the liquid. Patrick smiles.  
"Thank you, Diana. I promise I won't hurt your mother," Patrick looks relieved.  
"Patrick, I have a question for-," I start.  
"Go ahead," he cuts me off. I pause of a few seconds  
"The family in there... That's moms side right?" Pat nods.  
"Yeah, why?"  
"That's not my real question but I was just making sure. My question is: how long are they staying and how often are we going to see them?"  
Pat thinks about this.  
"A few of them are home schooled so the ones who go to actual school are going home tomorrow. But when they leave, you still won't have a room," he tells me.  
"Kay, thanks." I look down at my limp body. I gesture to it. "Can you...?"  
Pat shakes his head, his black hair moving with it. Now that I think about it, Patrick could pass as my biological father.  
"Right," he makes a wave movement with his hand and then puts his hand out like he is going to pass me something. A black smoke emits from his palm, spreads over my body until I can feel my limbs and move them. I get out of the car. Looking down, I notice that he put me into some of, what looks like Ugene's workout clothes. The muscle shirt could be a very skimpy dress on me and the shorts are just staying on because of the elastic. Just before I bolt off, I lean into the car window.  
"What was that blue liquid?"  
Pat smiles.  
"It is like a reverse GPS; it tells me where you are."  
Then I bolt. I sprint down the medium sized street, past a few really big properties, some with dogs, others with cute little white fences, and woods in the background. I run up to the end of the street, come to a three way intersection, and turn left. The road here has houses on the right and woods on the left. I get so distracted by the woods and how much it reminds me of home that I don't notice the guy standing at the end of the street until I trip over his cane. I quickly recover.  
"Sorry!" I say before helping him regain his balance. When he looks at me, I almost scream. It is an exact replica of Dionysus when I first met him but without all the scratch marks.  
"Jesus girl watch where you are going!" the old man yells at me. I say sorry a bunch more times before running down a different street. I used to hate running when I was little, thought it was too much work and effort. Now it helps me clear my head. I run all around the neighborhood, feeling free yet constricted. I run into a nearby forest to do some training- Patrick can only track me with the liquid, not see what I am doing. I find a sturdy enough tree branch on an old looking tree to do the ab workout I overheard Ajax telling Sandra about. Usually, there would be someone in the tree to make sure you didn't fall, but I don't care right now. I don't have a watch so I do tree sit ups until my abs hurt, sweat makes it look like I have been in a water-gun fight, and my hair isn't straight. It is getting dark now so I decide to head back to the house.  
"Patrick? Can you hear me?" I yell into the woods. For a few minutes, nothing happens. I doubted it worked, until a black smoke surrounds my body. When it clears I can see the house in the distance.  
"It's a part of the tracking spell, I can hear you in case you get in any trouble," I hear his voice in my head, sort of like Voldemort does in the seventh movie.  
That is a good thing and a bad thing, I think whilst walking towards the house.  
When I get inside, everyone stares at me.  
"Sorry, just needed some air," I tell them. All the adults accept my lie and same goes for most of the kids.  
"Come sister, you can borrow some of my clothes," Ugene harshly says, loud enough for people to hear. He grips my upper arm tightly as he pulls me along behind him. Once we get into a room, he grips both of my arms and pushes me forcefully against the bureau. I fall to the ground, sweat and blood mixing together on my shirt. Black spots dance in my vision and I curl up into a ball.  
"Try another move like that, and the consequence will be much worse," Ugene hisses at me.  
I whimper; he smirks. I don't cry out in pain like I would normally. My theory is because my body is too exhausted and knows that they are going to abuse me- Aaron Warell, Aka Ares did and he is their master.  
Ugene picks me up into his arms- I don't struggle against him, figuring out the odds for my escape being less than his odds of pinning me down or something- and sets me onto the bed in the room.  
"Why are you doing all of this?" I ask up to him, my voice tiny.  
"I can't tell you, private business" he says nonchalantly. My brother throws some clothes at me.  
"Until you can get your own clothes, you will have to use mine. Lana, Quincy, and Elizabeth are leaving tonight," Ugene says as if the matter bores him. He looks at me. "Come on, get moving!"  
When I do move, it is very slowly. I am apparently too slow because Ugene comes over and helps me, uttering something about me being weak. Once I get into the bathroom, Ugene leaves, I sigh and lock the door. It's a small bathroom without a window, with the essentials, and a rug near the sink. The tub and the sink are on the left, the bathtub that is also a shower on the right in its own little cot. The room is ocean themed. I quickly jump out of my clothes, wring them out and put them in the hamper. I put the setting on shower.  
The cold water running down my hot body feels so good and relaxing that I allow my mind to wonder. It wanders to my friends at CHB, my dead aunt, Martin, Mark, and to my brothers. I think of the way Aelix's eyes light up when he looks at me; how Joselyn is skilled in the art of fighting, is a very powerful daughter of Hades; how Eva is the level-headed calm, smart, tactical one who always has your back; of Sandra and her knack for music, healing, and being a light in the darkness; of Kacey and how she runs the camp with almost no sign of emotion; Martin and Mark, Derrek, Dionysus, Cole, Ajax, and Ammon. I think of how secretive I was at first with them, how quickly they trusted me, how I broke their hearts when I freed the army, of my time in the hospital. I think of my rough past. I think of my rough present-day. And I also think of what my next move is. I could act like I like it here, like I want to stay here- at least until my friends find me. I could go totally against them and find a way to escape. I could to a mixture of both, pretending I like it here while trying to come up with a plan. Suddenly, as if hit by a train, a memory comes to me...

"Seems legit. It was bound to happen," Pollux sighed "Well, that's the Fate of every Dionysus kid" Pollux still hadn't put me down, and I stopped squirming.  
"What Fate?"  
"Every Dionysus kid either descends into madness, have an alcohol addiction, be a party addict, or a mixture of any of them."

What if my fate hits while I am here? Will it be the downfall in my escape plans? I turn off the shower, dry off, clothe myself and tie my hair up in a braid. That's enough thinking for one shower.  
When I re-enter down stairs, everyone is looking at me again. I awkwardly walk over to the couch trying to look like nothing happened, and check out the channel.  
"What's this show?" I ask. There is a blonde girl on the screen who looks around 28 talking to a little brunette guy who looks around ten years old.  
"This is Once Upon a Time" Paige tells me. My question and Paige's answer seems to have broken whatever barrier of awkwardness. Everyone goes back to whatever they are doing. I get really captivated by the show. I find out that it is about a 28 year old girl named Emma who finds out from her given up son that there is a village called 'Storybrooke' and is all of our favorite fairytale characters stuck in our world without a memory of who they are, and that she is the only one who can break the curse due to the fact that Emma is the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming.  
I personally find it intriguing and can relate to it; we both had curses that only we could break.  
"Did you like it?" Paige asks. I am so stunned that all I can do is nod. She giggles.  
"Ok everyone, off to bed!" my mother says. All the teens groan while getting up. I notice how they all migrate downstairs. I approach Patrick.  
"So about my room..."  
"Your room will be downstairs. Upstairs we have my room, Wanda's, Martin's which is currently being occupied, Ugene's that he is sharing with some male cousins, the gym, the other TV room, the four closets, and three bathrooms. Down stairs we have the sleeping area for everyone and the games room. You will have a designated air mattress and when everyone leaves it will be your room," Patrick explains. I sigh but don't say anything. Before heading down stairs, I go upstairs. My mother and her cousins come over to me.  
"I've missed you my girl," my mother says before embracing me in a hug. For a second I don't hug back.  
"Mom, why did you give me up?" I ask, trying to mask all of my cooled up emotions.  
"My sister, your aunt, had a miscarriage around the time you were born. She was absolutely heartbroken. I however had just had you, at age 19. I wasn't ready for a kid then. You weren't exactly an accident but I wasn't trying either, just so you know. I gave you up because I had to. And now I'm a successful surgeon at the local hospital," she tells me.  
"Surgeon?" I ask. We pull away.  
"Yes. Why does that surprise you?"  
So Ugene knows how to get medical supplies from mother. I guess that shouldn't surprise me.  
"I was just shocked; I would peg you as a surgeon," I tell her the truth.  
"Anyway is that all you came up here for?"  
"No, I was wondering if I could borrow some pajamas..."  
My mother laughs.  
"Of course"  
When I finally get downstairs (everyone upstairs thought that I needed a welcome hug from each and every member) I find my spot near the corner. I step over my cousins 'beds' to get to my 'bed'. As soon as my head hits the pillow, I fall asleep.  
Although sleep comes at a price.

"Diana!"  
"Wake up sweet heart!"  
"Diana, sweetie, breathe!"  
Multiple hands are shaking me awake. Many voices are speaking to me but I can't figure out why. So I stay on that line between slumber and awake.  
"Perhaps we should call 911?" someone suggests.  
"How about getting Ugene or Patrick?"  
I try to wake up, not wanting their wrath, but find I can't. I feel myself going unconscious but I don't know what from.  
"She's slipping away! Someone do CPR!"  
I feel constricted, not in control of my body anymore. Suddenly I feel someone's lips on mine and that constricting feeling goes away. I start coming back to the awake side of that line as the lips are against mine, breathing air into my lungs. I feel something pounding against my chest.  
My eyes flutter open. I am met by curly black hair, the feeling of someone's hands pressing down then letting go multiple times.  
"She's breathing!" Someone exclaims. The pressure against my chest stops and the person whose face was near mine moves. All eyes from the basement are on me. My mind flashes back to when Aelix came to help with the nightmare I was having, my heart to aching at the memory. There are two guys around my age close to me. They help me sit up because I can't move my legs, or most of my body for that matter. I am bombarded with questions.  
"Are you okay?"  
"How do you feel?"  
"Why were you screaming?"  
"Do you need to see a doctor?"  
One of the two guys closest to me hands me a glass of water. Without answering any questions, I devour the water.  
"Could someone tell me what happened?" I ask hoarsely but somehow am heard by everyone. They go silent.  
"You mean you don't know?" one of the guys says. I nod.  
The one I vaguely remember as Zane (really big into sports, brother of Lana) is the first one to talk.  
"Well Rylen and I were the first to hear you scream. We dashed across the room to see what was up and we saw that you were thrashing and screaming in your sleep. You kept screaming for Aaron Warell to leave you alone and not hurt you anymore. Suddenly you stopped breathing. I started waking people up, not knowing what to do. You started to breathe again so Rylen, the rest of the family and I waited to see if anything would happen. You stopped breathing but this time for a longer period of time. Aunt Rose suggested doing CPR which was what Tyler and Rylen did. Tyler did the mouth to mouth while Ry did the compressions," Rylen touches me on the shoulder lightly.  
"Are you okay?"  
I nod.  
"You sure? Because what just happened isn't exactly the definition of okay" the guy I am guessing to be Rylen asks. I notice that his voice is very nasally.  
I nod again. I don't want to talk to these people; I don't want to be here. If I were at camp, this would be very different. I might not have even dreamt of the times Aaron/Ares was torturing me.  
"Are you going to talk at all? Don't you want help?" Tyler asks cautiously as if not wanting to hurt me. I shake my head 'no' before putting my head in my knees. Tyler gets up.  
"Okay everybody, give the girl some space!" he makes sure everyone leaves before coming back over to Zane and me. He sits next to me.  
"Can you please tell us? We won't do anything that you don't want us to like the girls did. That wasn't a very welcoming introduction into the family," he tries to get me to look at him but I don't comply.  
"Please?"  
I sink into the covers, wrapping them around me as if they can protect me from the nightmares, flashbacks, ridicule, and monsters. Beneath those covers, I break down into tears. Someone hugs me whilst I cry, but it soon ends  
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN DIANA STOPPED BREATHING?!" I hear Ugene yell from upstairs. I hear quick footsteps- coupled with multiple curse words- come across the ceiling and start down the steps. I dry my eyes so that Ugene doesn't have something else to yell at me. When the footsteps reach the bottom of the stairs, I expected the boys to scurry away, Ugene to come over and beat me almost to death. Instead, Tyler and Rylen don't leave.  
"Is she...?" Ugene's high pitched, heartbroken and worried tone surprises me.  
"She is alive, just a bit shaken up from the nightmare she had," I hear Tyler explain. I hear footsteps get louder and then whoever is hugging me stops. I curl up even deeper into the covers but soon find that I am not alone. Ugene tries to wrap his arms around me; I recoil and scream at him.  
"Shh shh Diana, it's alright. I'm not going to hurt you," he says. He is lying. He wants me to believe that I won't get hurt. The covers now serve no protection and I have backed up into the corner. Ugene blocks my only means of escape. I don't dare meet his eyes.  
"Diana, I'm not going to hurt you right now; you are clearly having some sort of mental trauma that I want to help you with," he takes a few steps closer. I shake my head, not able to formulate letters into words. I feel one of his arms slip under my legs, another behind my back, and am brought closer to him. Ugene smells of smoke and French toast, an odd combination. Ugene cradles me in his arms and I can't help it; I start balling my eyes out into his chest.  
"I'll protect you from those monsters inside your head," my brother tells me.  
"How.... Can you.... When the.... Monster is.... You?" I sob into his chest.  
Ugene doesn't have an answer to this. I look to see that his eyes are alternating from green to red. They settle on a weird purple color and look down at me, lovingly.  
"What do you mean I'm the monster in your dreams?"  
"You keep appearing in my nightmares, over and over again," I sob. The look in his eyes tells me that he is hurt by this statement.  
"What am I doing in your dreams?"  
I suddenly want out. I squirm as a way of getting out but I don't get very far.  
"What am I doing in your dreams?"  
I huff loudly before answering.  
"I am at one end of a rope, my friends at the other, kind of like a tug-of-war. You come up behind me and start snapping off body parts then giving me new ones. My friends don't notice. Then once everything has been replaced, I get pulled toward my friends." I pause allowing it to sink in "that's not the only one..." I whisper. Ugene knows that demigod dreams mean something.  
"Have you ever had a dream that didn't involve me beating, ripping, or hurting you?"  
I shake my head 'no'.  
"Well I won't do any of that now," he places a kiss on my temple. Ugene chuckles.  
"It's funny how I'm younger but I am comforting you. Isn't this supposed to be the other way around?"  
Suddenly my nose isn't feeling open. I sneeze causing Ugene to chuckle.  
"Looks like you caught a cold. Try to not have to have mouth to mouth each morning," his eyes switch to red. "I mean, I wouldn't mind giving you mouth to mouth," Ugene looks down at me perplexed.  
"Can you put me down?" I softly ask.  
As soon as I am on my feet, I fall to the ground. There are pins and needles in my feet.  
"My feet are asleep" I can hear how nasally my voice is and it startles me. I sneeze again.  
"Do you want a reactine?" Ugene asks.  
"It won’t work, remember? I only get whatever side effects there are," I sniff.  
"I'll find something," Ugene says thoughtfully before helping me up.


	2. Friends and Foes

Joselyn’s POV

The first thing I notice the day after the dance is that I haven't seen Dae, Aelix, or Ugene in a while; a bad combination. So after making out with Cole enough to set his hair on fire, I go to Kacey. She is with Mitchell outside the Dionysus cabin making sure no Dionysus kids are drunk, high, or stoned. When I approach, I don't get to speak.  
"Where is Diana?" Kacey asks "she and Ugene haven't checked in with us yet."  
"I was literally just going to ask you that," I tell her. She looks around and then sighs.  
"Dae and Aelix are probably off somewhere doing who knows what?!" Kacey looks down at her clipboard. "How about you check in on her later?"  
Mitchell hoists up a group of Dionysus sons onto his horseback. He approaches us.  
"I'm going to take these ones to the infirmary. They are all passed out stoned so I might be a while," he informs Kacey.  
"Has Diana checked in with you?" Kacey asks hopefully.  
"No, why would she? Diana is immune to mortal drugs and alcohol intoxication; why would she need to check in?" Mitch points out. Kacey sighs and gestures to the next son of Dionysus. I look to see Martin and some guy next. Martin approaches nervously, sits down on the testing chair, grabs the guy's hand and gives his arm to Kacey.  
"Martin, do you know where Ugene is?" I ask. He looks me in the eyes then at the ground. I look down and see a vine drawing out a message in the dirt. It reads:  
He told me that he was going home.  
"Really? Why doesn't he want to stay at CHB?" I ask.  
He writes:  
I don't know.  
I look him in the eye, or try to. Martin looks down at the ground.  
"Is there something you aren't telling us?" I sternly grab his shoulder, the one that his friend is attached to. Martin looks at the ground.  
"Martin?!"  
He winces. I feel a hand on my shoulder.  
"You don't want to harm the poor boy Josie!" Sandra exclaims from behind me. I let go.  
"Martin, I know you're hiding something," The vine he is writing with taps me on the leg. I look down and read:  
I can't tell you much, but you might want to check the hospital closet.  
Sandra and I grab Eva along with the guys. Using Sandra's key, we head straight for the hospital closet.  
Sandra fiddles with the lock but eventually gets the door open. At first none of us notice the body in the corner. It isn't til Cole makes a flame flashlight that we see Aelix huddled up and stuffed into the shelf.  
"Aelix!" we exclaim. He stirs a bit.  
Ammon and Ajax get to work by picking Aelix up and carrying him outside. They set the son of Phobos down on a picnic table. By now he is just coming back into consciousness.  
"What, where am I?" Aelix moves his hair out of his eyes. With better lighting, I see that Aelix has a black eye, some dried up blood running down from his mouth, and he clutches his right arm tenderly. His tux is almost all gone: his fancy shirt is gone and same with his jacket revealing some scratches on his torso. His pants have a deep circle around the crotch.  
"Ugene! Where is the rat bustard?" Aelix moves to get off the table, but Ammon and Ajax hold him down. Aelix punches Ajax with his right hand but Ajax doesn't seem fazed. Aelix, however, screams in agony and lies back down on the table.  
Cole approaches Aelix with an odd expression. He stares at the circle.  
"Dude, what happened? Why do your pants smell like orina?" he asks.  
"Orina means urine in Spanish," I translate. I then scrunch up my face. Aelix looks ticked off and wild eyed.  
"WHERE IS THAT SHIT FACED BROTHER OF MY GIRLFRIEND?!!!" he yells.  
"Aelix, nothing gets settled or fixed with you yelling. That's only when Joselyn is involved," Eva soothes. She moves to rub Aelix's temples. He visibly calms down a bit, Eva's serene demeanor rubbing off on the son of Phobos.  
"I was on my way to the bathroom last night when I ran into Ugene. He was looking very displeased at the moment but when he saw me, he got this gleam in his eye. He approached me. Ugene asked if I was with Diana. I said no and wondered why he was asking. He smirked and pinned me with one fluid arm movement. He then punched me in the eye and the jaw. I pushed him off and pinned him down. I gave him some bad bruises meanwhile I was starting to feel like I was bleeding. I paused for a second to look down to see that a vine had crept out of the floor and was making scratch marks all over my shirt. That pause gave Ugene the upper hand. He conjured some more and shredded my shirt. I tried to punch him but he caught my hand. Ugene snapped my wrist then my arm. By this time I really had to pee. He punched me in the stomach then said 'have a nice sleep' before shoving me into that closet. I stumble backwards; hit my head on something hard and the last thing I felt was him stuffing me into the corner." Aelix explains as calmly as he can.  
"Dude, you pissed your pants!" Ajax chuckles. Aelix kicks out now immune to Eva's calming waves. Aelix gets free from the guys grasp and runs blindly ahead. I pounce and we go rolling in the grass. I pin him so that I'm not touching his hurt arm/wrist. Sandra catches up to me with a vial in her hand. She applies the liquid to Aelix's eye, lip, and torso. Aelix cries out in pain when Sandra applies the concoction to each wound. He tenses and relaxes under my hold.  
"Aelix, do you know where Ugene or Diana are?" I ask calmly. The others have caught up and are keeping a good distance. I hear Aelix swear under his breath.  
"What is it Aelix?" I ask.  
"I just remembered; when Ugene was beating me up, he said something about how Diana's fate will claim her and that he wasn't going to let us stop it," Aelix tells us. "He said that he will take what is rightfully his, Aka Diana his sister" Aelix looks over at Sandra.  
"We have to tell Kacey. But two things before we do that; one- heal my arm. Two- change my pants."  
We laugh at the second one. Sandra orders me off of Aelix so she can tend to his hand. I walk over to my boyfriend. I don't realize I'm crying until Cole embraces me in a hug and I start sobbing.  
"Chica, you don't have reason to worry. We will get her back! You here? And when I get my hands on Ugene, he will pay for whatever he has done to our friend," Cole whispers in my ear.  
He said OUR friend not MY friend. That means he values me enough to be friends with my friends.  
A tap on Cole's shoulder, pulling us a part, draws me out of my thoughts. Ajax looks uncomfortable.  
"Cole, if you wouldn't mind giving Aelix a massage, that would be great. Every time Sandra touches him, he tenses his whole body and yelps," Ajax and Cole have a little stare down. Cole looks at me.  
"I will go tell Kacey while you deal with Aelix. A quest has to be issued," I tell Cole. We kiss real quickly before we split. I just feel bad that Kacey, a young centaur around our age, has to deal with all the problems. Chiron should give her a break sometime.

Kacey sighs when I tell her.  
"I knew it," she looks defeated and like she is living off coffee. Kacey's CHB shirt is all wrinkled, her glasses are on upside down, and her eyes have blue bags under them. She takes another sip of coffee before trotting out of her office. I follow her.  
"You knew what?" I call to Kacey.  
Without stopping, she calls back:  
"Go get Aelix, Eva, and Sandra. You four are going to break the rules."  
A little confused, I jog back to fetch my friends. I find them in the infirmary. Just before I get through the infirmary doors, I hear voices.  
"Oh Cole, your hands are magic!" I hear Aelix yell. I immediately open the doors, and laugh at the scene. Aelix is stretched out on a bed, on his stomach. Cole's hands are tinged red while he massages the son of Phobos. Relaxing scented candles are everywhere, and Eva is holding a conch horn. The sound of the ocean emits from the conch shell.  
Aelix moans in pleasure as Cole gets right under the shoulder blades.  
"You have to teach me how to do this!" Aelix moans loudly.  
"Why do you want to learn how to do this?" Cole asks, hitting that spot on Aelix's back again. The son of Phobos moans even more loudly and a lot more grizzly like this time.  
"So that I can do this to Diana of course!" he exclaims as if it is the most obvious answer.  
"Or you could do that on me a little later Cole?" I say, trying to be seductive.  
"Hey Josie!" Eva calls. I wave.  
"Kacey wants me, you, Aelix and Sandra to meet her someplace. It's urgent."  
Eva stops the conch horn noises. Aelix sighs heavily before rolling off the infirmary bed.  
"Fine, I'm coming," Aelix retrieves a shirt from Sandra- whom was sent to fetch him one- and comes to stand beside me. Eva and Sandra join me, as a group we head over to the place where Kacey wants to meet; in Rachel's cabin.

"I've got some good news and some bad news. Which do you want first?" Kacey says as we enter the cabin for the 'others'. This cabin was built for any non-demigod campers (i.e. Rachel, the satyrs, Ella, etc...) and is pretty full. Ella and Rachel are currently whispering in hushed tones.  
"Bad news first," I say. I want the good news last to lighten up the bad news. Kacey sighs sorely and looks like she is going to cry.  
"A few hundred years ago, the oracle of Delphi predicted that there will be one girl who comes along and is sort of like a repeat of what happened to Percy Jackson. Of course she didn't say exactly that, but the point is that Diana is a part of 2 or 3 major prophecies," Kacey explains.  
"The good news is that we have a means of finding her. I am calling in a child of Hecate to make a tracking spell. It can track Dae but it will take maybe a few months," the centaur finishes.  
"What if when we get Dae back, we just keep her here? We wouldn't give her any quests or take her along on any quests; it would be easier!" Sandra exclaims.  
Kacey sighs.  
"Then what would be the point of her training? She wouldn't have anything to do. The reason you train is so that you know how to fight off a monster; she would have no reason to train so she will just get bored," Kacey explains.  
"What if, when she comes back, we just have someone assigned to Dae duty? The person on duty will train with her, she would sleep in that cabin to be sure nothing happens, and she could still go on quests?" Eva suggests.  
"I'm good with that," Sandra says. I nod in approval.  
"Kacey, what are the ancient prophecies you were talking about?"  
The centaur taps Ella on the shoulder. The harpy turns to look at us, her eyes scanning our group.  
"Seek them out to save the dame  
Take back what wasn't theirs to claim  
Beware of he whose magic is black  
For her fate shall surely attack  
Hurry before you lose her forever  
Friendship is the worst to sever" she recites.  
Slightly behind me, I hear sobbing. I turn around and want to both laugh and cry at what I find; Aelix, whom I forgot is here, is leaning against Eva crying. She is mainly focused on keeping the son of Phobos from hitting the ground. I look at Sandra to find that she wrote down the prophecy. Kacey looks at Eva and Aelix.  
"Aelix, come here," Kacey soothes. Aelix slumps over to Kacey. She puts him up on her back. Aelix cries into the back of Kacey's CHB shirt. It breaks my heart to see him like this.  
"Eva, will you be the quest leader?" Kacey asks. All eyes that are in the cabin shoot to Eva.  
Looks like some of the nymphs and satyrs have overheard or eavesdropped on the whole conversation, I think.  
"Of course!" Eva exclaims.  
"I'm pretty sure that I know who is going on the quest with you," Kacey smiles. "So what's left to do is wait for that tracking spell to be ready. Until then, you girls are dismissed," Kacey follows us out of the cabin and while we head to the training arena, Kacey heads to the Hermes cabin.  
Why would she go to the Hermes cabin? I think. I apparently say this out loud, because Eva answers.  
"She is taking Aelix to see Ammon. According to Cole, Ammon was able to calm him down the most whilst Dae was in the hospital."  
I look around.  
"So... What do we do now?" Sandra asks.  
"We wait until the tracking spell is ready," Eva replies.  
"And until then?"  
I look at both of them, crack my knuckles and then my neck.  
"We train in the art of killing. That bastard of Dionysus kid is going down!" I reply with such ferocity, I have to dramatically storm out of the cabin area, my eyes set on the training arena.

We leave the training area when it is time for supper. Our training has been intense; all of us have pit stains, sweat-ridden hair and are breathing heavily. I'm pretty sure that the ferocity we showed scared some of the younger/ newer campers. I have been switching my weapons so that I don't have to rely on my whip all the time. I even practiced with axes. We all will do anything to get our friend back.  
"You look like crap, are you okay?" Nico says when I enter the Hades cabin. I can tell that the first part was mocking me and the second, he truly wants to know. I go over to my big brother, give him a big, sweaty hug.  
"Josie! I just got cleaned up!" he exclaims. I giggle before letting him go. I ruffle his hair for good measure.  
"I love you Nico!" I sing before heading into the bathroom to shower.  
"No you don't! You're just saying that!" he calls in a brotherly joking manner.  
"Yes I do and you know it!" I call back whilst getting rid of the wet clothes.  
"Better have a quick shower sis- the Harpies will get your food if you don't get there in time," Nico calls.  
"I'll just hunt for a squirrel or something then get Cole to cook it for me," I call to him, laughing at our banter.  
"Dad would be so proud," Nico fakes over-dramatic. I laugh as I hear his steps recede, glad that my brother doesn't be his dark goth-like self with me.  
After the fierce training, a cold shower feels good. I start to think whilst in the shower; about Dae, the torture Ugene must be doing to her, and how to maim then kill Ugene. As always, there is that little voice in my head that says:  
"you don't deserve to kill him without Diana's permission... She has already lost one brother, she doesn't need to lose both"  
I don't realize how long I have been in the shower until I hear the door slam open.  
"Joselyn?!" I hear a certain hot Latino boyfriend of mine call.  
"SHOWER!" I yell back. I hear steps come to the door.  
"I have your food. Had to wrestle it from a Harpy though..."  
"Oh yeah?" I call back with a giggle.  
"Unfortunately the Harpy didn’t for my charms and good looks so I sweet talked it into giving me your food!" he calls.  
"My hero!" I get out of the shower and after dressing and brushing my hair, I greet Cole at the door. I see that he has two plates. Noticing my perplexed facial expression, he gives me a peck on the cheek before giving me my plate.  
"Why do you have a second plate?"  
He sits down on a blanket that is spread out on the floor.  
"I didn’t want to eat without the most beautiful girl in the world," he says straight up, sincerity prominent in his voice. My heart melts.  
Well, he is a son of Hephaestus, I think. So we sit and eat together. After our little picnic- which turned into another type of bonding time- Cole decides to stay the night since Nico isn't coming back tonight; he has to go to Manhattan for some reason and he will be there for a few days.

Diana’s POV  
Having a cold sucks. My nose feels like it is made of cement, my head is in war with my cement nose and wants to float away, I have no energy, and I don't have any appetite. At least I don't have to go say goodbye to my relatives.  
A few of them come down to see me; only the ones who didn't freak me out. Tyler, Quincy, Paige and a cousin named Neil are the only ones left who are my age.  
I hear the footsteps of my family leaving and sigh. When I found out that I wasn't an Envis, I pictured my reunion with the family to be totally different. Before I met Ugene, I pictured returning home to a loving, attention giving mother and step-father who knew about who I really was, and allowed me to go to camp. I imagined Eva, Joselyn, Sandra, Kacey and Aelix coming to meet them. Aelix would be nervous but pretend that he wasn't at all. We would have a sleepover like the one we had during the quest. I would be fed, no nightmares would have came to me, and I would be as healthy as an ox.  
I blow my nose for the millionth time this morning.  
Gods I hate being sick... I think as I throw it on the tissue Everest in my room. Patrick moved some furniture in, so my room actually looks like a room.  
At around 1:00pm I here three pairs of footsteps come down the stairs.  
"Diana, are you awake?" I hear Tyler call.  
"We have food for you," Neil calls. I hear them coming closer to my bed. I peek out of the covers, a rare occurrence for today. I see Neil carrying a plate of sandwiches and a jug of milk. Tyler is holding some glasses.  
"Geez Diana," Quincy says not too nicely "how about you take something to help your cold?!"  
I roll my eyes before flopping back down in my bed.  
"I'm not hungry," I tell them.  
"Suite yourself," Quincy says. I hear her take a bite out of a sandwich; Paige scolds her.  
"Diana, you can't stay in bed forever! And you must eat to regain your health," She lectures on about the importance if eating healthy. I zone out after the first few minutes. There is one part that I snap back in for.  
"I think Ugene would want you to eat," Neil says.  
I laugh.  
"Sure. The person starving me suddenly wants me to eat," I mutter. I feel four indents come upon the bed.  
"Well, Ugene is gone and we are telling you to eat," Tyler says.  
"where did he go?" hopefully to Hell, I think.  
"He went to pick up Martin from that camp you guys went to," Tyler tells me. I feel something round being placed on my stomach.  
"If you don't mind, you are going to be our table," Quincy sounds as if she is going to pummel me if I answer this incorrect.  
"I don't mind," I nervously reply.  
I hear them eating-a strange sound- but I don't feel hungry. They start talking about random teenage stuff; I find out that Quincy has an on and off relationship with someone named Buzz, Tyler is going to try out for a hockey team nearby and that Paige is volunteering at a local library. During the conversation of books, it is brought up that I have a beautiful bookshelf yet no books on it. They pull me out of the covers at this topic.  
"We could go book shopping! I have some suggestions!" Paige excitedly bounces on the bed.  
I chuckle at her.  
"There's the Mortal Instruments, The Prequel series of that The Infernal Devices, Lorien Legacies, The Hunger Games, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter!"  
"Paige and her books..." Neil sighs. Neil is like the guy version of Paige.  
"No wonder you are volunteering at a library!"  
I snuggle back under the covers, zoning out of the conversation.  
I wonder what my friends are doing right now, I think. I hope that they find me soon. I don't like needing to be helped but I don’t know when the tracking liquid will wear off. If only I could send the tracking signal to Camp Half Blood...  
Suddenly I feel someone rip the blankets from me.  
"Diana, Patrick said that you have to take this medicine," Tyler calmly tells me. I look at him skeptically.  
"And if I don't take it?" I ask whilst blowing my nose and discarding the snot-ridden tissue to the pile.  
Tyler looks slightly uncomfortable.  
"Either you take it willingly or, depending on how important the medicine is, we will force you to take it. Although if it turns out to be not important we won't force it upon you," Tyler answers. Then adds "be right back," before heading upstairs. I feel the others shift. Quincy and Neil grab my arms, not too hard but I can tell that they are capable of snapping my arm like a twig. Paige just simply sits near my feet, playing with my toes.  
"Can I paint your toes?" she asks hopefully while she wiggles the big toe on my right foot.  
"Go ahead," I say. She leaves my makeshift room, the only two people I sort-of trust leaving.  
Tyler and Paige both arrive at the same time. Paige has a vanity bag in her hands; Tyler looks like he saw a ghost.  
"Tyler, bro, you alright man?" Neil asks without removing his hands.  
"Diana, you never told us that you have ADHD and Dyslexia!" Tyler sounds hurt.  
"It never came up in the conversation," I tell him.  
"What’s the medicine for?" Quincy asks with a snarkiness in her voice that could make a bitchy daughter of Aphrodite cry.  
"It comes from this professor in Germany; Patrick says that it helps with the dyslexia."  
I gulp nervously.  
"How do I..... Take it?" my voice goes up a few octaves.  
"Orally," Tyler tells me.  
I try to sit up but get reminded of my current situations. Tyler uncaps the vial as he approaches me. He puts the vial to my lips and pours its contents into my mouth. As soon as it hits my mouth I want to spit it out; the taste of brussel sprouts, moldy hamburgers, and bark assault my taste buds. Quincy clamps a hand over my mouth and Neil plugs my nose. I am forced to swallow the disgusting liquid. It burns as it goes down my esophagus and I try to scream. Quincy's hand muffles my scream.  
"You are so feisty, aren't you?" Neil enquires. They let go of me; I roll off of the bed. I close my eyes.  
Think of happy things, I think to myself. CHB, Martin, my friends, Aelix, cookies, cupcakes, dance, TV shows...  
I don't notice that I am drifting to sleep until I feel hands lifting me up and onto my bed. I feel covers over me, protecting me from everything. I hear my cousins voices.  
"Come on guys, she needs rest. I'm pretty sure you all just scared her back into that shell she has," I hear Paige say. And it's true; I am back in my mental shell. I drown out their voices and focus on positive things again. I drift off to a wonderful slumber without any nightmares.

Evaline’s POV  
I didn't see Josie at supper last night or at breakfast today. I'm not worried but it is kind of odd. After the big battle and we came back, the camp has had a dramatic incline in population. With all these new campers come more people in the cabins. The funny thing is that there are at least 5 newbies for every non- big-three cabin if you sort it out evenly. The sorting ceremony is tonight; Sandra, Josie and I have to go because we are the head of our cabins.  
"You ok Eva? You look like you have seen a ghost!" Sandra says while coming to sit down. I feel an arm wrap around my waist and then a peck on my cheek. Looking up, I see that Ajax, Ammon, and a depressed looking Aelix have sat down at our picnic table.  
"Hey!" Sandra greets. Ajax kisses her before helping Aelix sit down.  
"How are you Aelix?" I ask softly. He looks at me but doesn't answer.  
"I put him to bed when Kacey came and had to wake him up due to nightmares," Ammon whispers.  
"son of Fear having nightmares" Aelix mumbles dryly while stirring his veggies on the plate, "the irony is killing me,"  
Then ever so quiet I hear:  
"Just how Ugene is killing Dae,"  
"HEY!" I call angrily to him. His head snaps up.  
"That is not the way to think! Do you think the Diana Summers we know would let Ugene do whatever he wants to her? NO. Do you think that she won't fight for her life? She will! Do you have any faith that Diana is strong enough to beat Ugene and find a way back?" I look at the group desperately before realizing how loud my voice is.  
"We need to get our friend back!" I say to Sandra. She nods, a new air of confidence exuding from her.  
I turn to Aelix.  
"I'm sorry Aelix but this quest is going to have to go on without you," I say before picking up my empty plate and leaving. This seems to snap him awake because he looks up at me with wild eyes. Sandra follows, as well as Ammon. Looking back I see Ajax getting Aelix to breathe into a paper bag.  
"Eva, I have never seen this side of you..." Ammon shyly says, pink spreading up his face.  
"Sorry, I'm just really stressed” and I am. During training I was working up a sweat. During the last bit of the training, my sword Tsunami actually slipped out of my hand! We all trained intensely, so intense that Sandra hurt her shoulder; she isn't used to training without her bow and arrow. Thinking about training causes a rage to build up inside. I don't exactly know what to do right now which is ticking me off; I always know what to do.  
"Oh no!" Sandra exclaims. I turn my focus to her.  
"What?"  
"Diana was supposed to learn about what to do in capture situations in October if she decided to stay at camp half blood!"  
I don't know what she is getting at. After my pause, she sighs.  
"She has no clue how to survive whilst captured and if they torture her, she doesn't know the methods for it to hurt less!"  
That's a problem. It's a big problem.  
"We can't wait for a tracking spell- for all we know it might not work and we will have to wait some more," I turn to Ammon "do you know of any technology that could help us locate her?"  
Ammon looks from Sandra and I to Ajax and Aelix, then back again.  
"I'll go ask around my cabin; there ought to be at least one person who will know what we can do," with that, he turns away from us and disappears, leaving Sandra and I to gawk at him.  
"So... What now?" Sandra asks.  
"Fetch Joselyn, and then go to the Hecate cabin," I tell her.

Cole's hair is on fire when we get to Josie's cabin and they are passionately making out. I get their attention by getting the water from the sink and dumping it onto the passionate couple.  
"Hey!" Josie coughs. I make the water leave her lungs, same with Cole.  
"Joselyn, we have to go see the Hecate cabin." Sandra says.  
Josie groans and Cole tries to hide behind her.  
"I'm coming, just let me straighten up quickly," Joselyn zombie walks to her bathroom leaving Cole with one hair still on fire, like a single candle on his head. I march right over to blow it out.

I've always hated going into the Hecate cabin. I can't trust what I see, everyone and every THING watches us while we tread through. Joselyn, Sandra and I hold each other’s hands so that we don't get split up like last time. It always smells like smoke and scented candles but not the nice scented candles. I feel as if the walls move and breathe with each step we take. Unfortunately we have to go to the back of the cabin for who we are looking for.  
"Evaline Malone," Chris slurs. His cat eyes look me up and down, sizing me up. "Such a surprise! What brings you to my humble abode?"  
Joselyn and Sandra shoot me confused looks.  
"We need your help," I tell him whilst crossing my arms. He smiles, his teeth shining.  
"THE Evaline Malone needs MY help?" Chris smirks "well I'm afraid I can't help you" Chris puts a hand through his raven black hair. He has gained some muscle since I last saw him.  
"Eva? Care to explain?!" Joselyn looks at me with that contained pissed off look she gives me every time she finds out I'm hiding something from her.  
"You girls new to camp?" Chris asks. I notice his green eyes rake my friends bodies and it makes me want to hurl.  
"We have been here since we were nine," Joselyn rudely informs him.  
"ah, well I guess time does fly when you're confined to live only in your cabin" Chris gets up off of his bed, tries to approach us but is cut off by a magical force field. I am standing on one side, he at the other.  
"See they still have the force field up," Chris sighs.  
"Explanation please?" Joselyn demands.  
Chris walks over to where Joselyn is at the force field. He sticks his hand out to shake. Joselyn moves to shake.  
"Josie, don't pass the force field!" I tell her. She pauses.  
"What?"  
"Once you are in, you can't get out. And if you pull someone in it grants you permission to leave." I explain. Chris sneers.  
"Still smart I see," Chris goes back to his bed.  
"I'm still waiting for an explanation..." Joselyn impatiently reminds me.  
"Chris and I were both in the Hermes cabin when the battle with Kronos was going on. At age six, we were the babies of camp- Ammon, Chris, Chris’ brother Jeffrey, and I- which means that we also had to play together and stuff. Chris got sorted as a child of Hecate at age 7 while I was still unclaimed. Ammon and I became close; too close for Jeff and Chris. Ammon became over- protective. He told me that I shouldn't trust Chris, and I never did. A few months later, Chris found a binding spell and said that he would grant me immortality by bounding me to a god, trying to win me over. I declined so Chris kidnapped me. Ammon stopped the ritual before Chris could bind me to Kronos. Chris never forgave Ammon nor me for it," I explain. Looking over to my friends I see a pissed off Joselyn and a horrified Sandra. I look down at my feet, ashamed. I had kept that secret for a while- it was Chris, Ammon and I's secret.  
"I got caged into my bed with a weak amount of magic left. I can make food appear for me to eat, and the most extreme thing is send things places," Chris sorely tells us.  
"So... How can this freak help us?" Joselyn growls.  
"Who said I wanted to help you?" Chris' tone hints that he is getting frustrated.  
"I was thinking that he could send to Dae a tracking device," I tell them. "Once Ammon comes back with the device we will be all set" I look at Chris "all we would need is your cooperation."  
Chris picks up a book from under the bed.  
"I won't do it," he mumbles.  
"Please? Maybe this could release you from the cage!" he looks at me doubtingly.  
"And if it doesn't?"  
"Then I would let Chiron know of the aid you had in getting the most powerful and important daughter of Dionysus back to camp," I am on the verge of tears.  
"Oh, I have heard of her alright. If I recall some of my siblings are working on a tracking spell. Shouldn't that be enough?"  
He's really pushing it.  
"Well Dae could be getting tortured right now because we can't get to her faster! All I am asking is that you send this to her"  
Chris gets up and paces around his cage. He looks at each of us, his gaze ending on me.  
"No," he simply says. I almost don't believe him.  
"What?" I ask.  
"I said no," Chris saunters bad over to his bed.  
"Why not?!" I demand. I feel Joselyn's hands on my shoulders.  
"Because my father wouldn't want me to. In fact, he warned me about you," Chris gets this dark look about him.  
"Your... Father?" I ask.  
"Yes, my father. You do know that I am a descendant, don't you? A descendant of Hecate?"  
"Then who is your father?" Sandra pipes up.  
"My last name is Nealson. Christopher Nealson, son of Patrick Nealson."

The ceremony takes a while, and since I am head of my cabin, I get the lovely honor of standing on top of a picnic table for an hour. Stew sits at the table with his Frisbee/shield, sword, and water remote. He has a line of water and food dyes and is currently mixing/separating the colored water with his water controller.  
Sandra and Josie stands on their tables as well, Joselyn texting while Sandra plays the clarinet. Sandra has had 3 people join her table, Josie has had 1 and we have had none.  
"Next up is Ella Dolton," Mitchell announces. No one goes up.  
"Ella Dolton?" Mitchell says again.  
"SHE WENT BACK TO BE WITH HER MOTHER," The head of the Ares cabin yells.  
And the night goes on. At the end of the ceremony I have successfully found 1 new sibling. He is the same age as Stew and they hit it off right away. Sandra has had 6 people join her cabin. She introduces them all to Gwen, who is very talkative. Joselyn has also gained 1 sibling. It is also a guy. The guy looks more stereotype-Aphrodite which, if he acts like the stereotype, is going to get him kicked out of that cabin.  
There is one thing that surprised me; Hermes cabin only received two new siblings.  
I hear a soft knock on my door just when I'm about to get to bed. Ammon stands at the door, a single rose in his hand.  
"Goodnight Evaline," he says before handing me the rose. I take it, astonished at this random gesture. I put the rose into a vase; place it on my bedside table, hoping that I won't have any nightmares. No such luck comes.


	3. Shopping and Solution

Dae’s POV

I hear a soft knock on my bedroom door. Well, what they call my bedroom. On the top floor, Ugene, Martin, and our parent/guardian sleep. When my brothers came to 'fetch' me, they forgot one small detail; I didn't have a room. Ugene suggested that he and I share a room, but luckily he was the only one who wanted that. Instead, Mrs. Summers converted the large basement into two parts; one for me to sleep in/personalize, the other for the games room. So far I have an empty dresser, a bed, and an empty bookshelf. My door is really just a bunch of dividers.  
"Who is it?" I grumpily call whilst turning around in my bed. My cold hasn't gotten any better. Rylen shouldn't have done CPR; it should have been someone without a cold.  
"It's your beloved brother!" Ugene calls cheerily before sliding away the dividers. I bury myself in blankets but that doesn't stop my brother from coming in, setting something down on top of the dresser and sitting on my legs. After five minutes of just sitting and lying, I poke my head out.  
"What?!" I demand nasally.  
Ugene points to a bowl.  
"I brought you soup. Chicken noodle" after a skeptical look, he adds "Martin made it"  
I blow my nose for the millionth time and throw the snot riddled tissue with the others.  
"Thanks but I'm not that hungry" I grumble before going back into my nest of blankets. Ugene rolls his eyes.  
"You know there is only three ways for you to get better" he pokes where he thinks is my abdomen. I squeal at the unexpected touch emitting a chuckle from Ugene.  
"One- nectar or ambrosia; two- grapes or wine; three- having lots of soup and TLC"  
After I curl up into a ball, Ugene decides to try a new method.  
"I'll be right back sister," he tells me with an evil smirk that I can sense.  
Ugene doesn't bother knocking when he comes back down. He rips off the covers so fast that I don’t have any time to grab them. I back up into the backboard, curl up into a ball, and start shivering. The clothes Ugene gave me aren't very good at keeping in heat. The only thing of Ugene's that I’m not wearing is undergarments.  
Ugene passes me the soup bowl.  
"Are you going to eat?" he questions sternly. I timidly shake my head 'no', my black curls bouncing like crazy. Ugene puts down the bowl with a sigh.  
"I guess you will have to get better my way..." Ugene suddenly grabs my feet, pulls me down off the bed, takes out a pair of handcuffs, attaches one to the bed and the other around my wrist. Ugene takes out a big needle filled with a weird red substance. I cough and start to cry.  
"I'll take the soup!" I cry out, my voice sounding like a dying cat. Ugene makes a tsk noise and places the tip against the skin of my neck.  
"Too late. Should have took the soup when you had the chance," with that, he pushes it in and injects the liquid into me. I scream and scream and cough and scream some more. I cry too. After my crying and screaming spell is done, Ugene gets off of me.  
"Ugene... What was in that... That" I start but can't seem to say the word.  
"Needle?" I nod "I put red wine. I know how you can't get intoxicated but you hate the taste so I decided to inject it into you. How do you feel?"  
I think about this. My nose is suddenly not congested, I don't feel like throwing up, and I no longer get light headed when I move. Ugene uncuffs me from the bed, but recuffs me to himself.  
"Are you good for shopping?" he asks, as if he didn't just force me to face my biggest fear.  
"I am but not with you," I say, slipping the keys from his pocket. I free myself and bolt for the stairs. I fly up the stairs and crash right into Patrick. We go tumbling down the stairs.  
"Where's mom?" I croak.  
"At work. Why?" Pat uses his powers to get us up. After checking me for any visible bruises, Pat laughs.  
"Ugene said I could go shopping?" I look at Ugene, who looks sad and confused as to why I don't trust him.  
"Yes as long as you have a chaperon," Pat sticks out his hand, palm up. At first I think he wants a high five, but soon on his hand appears roughly $4000 cash American. I gawk while he puts it into a purse that he also pops up. I lean in to Patrick.  
"Can Ugene not come?" I whisper, eying my brother.  
"Martin can't take you- he isn't here-, I can't take you because I have to work, and you don't want Ugene taking you... Who can?"  
Patrick thinks for a while but soon snaps his fingers and points at the ceiling.  
"I know; follow me Dae," he mutters before bolting upstairs. When we get to the top, Pat snaps his fingers, and soon Ugene is next to us.  
"Go get your sister some clothes," Pat commands.  
Ugene soon comes back down with a pile of clothes in his hands. I take a shower and then quickly change, making sure Ugene doesn't come in by locking the door. I throw my sick clothes at Ugene.  
Pat storms right out the door, I in a hot pursuit, and marches right up to the neighbors house. He knocks on the door.  
A lady around Pat's age greets us with a big warm smile.  
"Hello Patrick! How are you doing?!" her voice is loud, like she is trying to win a contest for loudest voice. The lady looks at me (I am behind Pat with a death clutch on his shirt).  
"Is this the step daughter you told me about?" she exclaims. I poke my head out from behind the son of Hecate and offer a small smile.  
"Yes, this is Diana," Pat states dryly "are your children home?"  
The lady look confused as to why Pat would want to know that, but quickly shakes it off.  
"Marie! Ella! Come here!" she yells into the house. Shortly after, two pairs of stomping feet are heard.  
"How old are your girls again?" Patrick asks, not exactly sounding interested.  
"They are both 17" two heads pop up behind our neighbor.  
"Would they like to go shopping with Diana?"  
"why do you ask?"  
"Diana here," Pat turns around suddenly, picks me up under the armpits, turns back around and plops me in front of him. "Needs some clothes, and she doesn't want to go shopping with Ugene"  
At the mention of his name, the lady looks like she understands completely.  
"They can go shopping, right girls?" the lady turns around.  
"I'll drive" one of them calls.  
The mother moves so that her girls can come out. The first one has straight medium brown hair, tan skin, and looks like she works out. She is 5ft 8inches. This girl sticks out her hand to me, emitting a confident, extrovert demeanor.  
"Hi, I'm Ella. What's your name?"  
"Diana," I squeak while shaking the girl's hand. Marie comes out next. She has shorter hair that curls into a bob. She is a bit shorter than Ella and has a less muscle than Ella. She regards my existence with a smile while passing by. Patrick nudges me to follow, so I obliges.  
I walk down their driveway to a van. Ella and Marie score the front seats, so I go to the very back seats. After we get buckled in, Ella looks at me in the mirror.  
"Hey Diana, do you have any money for these clothes?" she calls, then notices how far back I am, adds "you can come up a row-we don't bite"  
I look down to my purse with the $4000 dollars.  
"I have money, and I'm good back here," I shyly reply.  
Ella backs the car out of the driveway.  
"Are you sure? Because I'd like to get to know my new neighbor!"  
I quickly slip closer to the front.  
"So, how old are you?"  
It's like when I got interrogated by Ammon, Eva, Josie, Sandra, and Aelix, I think.  
"seventeen" I quietly reply.  
"Whose clothes are you wearing?" Marie asks me, eying Ugene's clothing ensemble.  
"Ugene's- Pat's and my mom were way too big, Martin's too small, and Ugene's are slightly too big," I answer robotically.  
I look down at Ugene's outfit, the one he picked out. His skinny jeans are black and fit me almost perfectly. The mahogany V neck shirt is a bit too low for my liking, but Ugene wouldn't let me into his room. The sandals I am wearing are my mother's and are Greek style, ironically.  
"How did you come to Colorado and why?" Ella asks with a genuine curiosity.  
"By plane and to meet my mom," I answer back, a little shiver running down my spine.  
"Wait, meet?" Marie sounds confused.  
"I was given to my aunt at a young age to be taken care of." I tell a vague truth.  
Ella looks at me in the mirror.  
"Why would she want to give you up?" Ella doesn't sound like she is being nosy, just that the topic fascinates her. I hug my knees and bury my face, suddenly feel really vulnerable.  
"Don't feel like you have to answer all my questions, I'm just really curious and fascinated by you," Ella informs me.  
"Fascinated?" I question, poking my face up a bit.  
"Yeah, I mean you are the sister of Ugene. Fair warning, some people at school think that you will act like Ugene."  
"Also," Marie chimes in "the popular guys judge all the new girls. No matter how hard you try to hide, they will find and judge. Some of them are animal douche bags. Oh and one of them is your brother."  
I gawk at them.  
"Marie, we aren't trying to scare the poor girl!" Ella disdainfully exclaims.  
"She's Ugene's sister, she has been scarred already" Marie counters.  
The car is silent until we get to the mall.  
The car ride is awkward after the sisters little talk with me. I can't see Ugene being popular, so I don't reply. Marie suddenly finds her hair very fascinating. Ella, of course is focused on the road. I start playing with my own hair. While I was sick I mostly left it down. It is still wet from my shower and goes down to my hips.  
Suddenly Ella stops, the car jerking forward a bit. I look up.  
"We are here," Ella announces. They both hop out of the van before I can get my seatbelt off. Ella helps me out of the van and smiles a bit when I accidentally get my shoe caught. I blush a bit. It takes 3 tries until Ella goes in the opposite door and undoes my Greek sandal.  
"Thanks," I mutter once we get walking. I mostly keep my eyes and head down (a habit from being at Campbell High) while we walk into the mall. Ella and Marie talk about which stores we should go to, what I might like-funny how they don't ask- and at some point get to the topic of why I am staying quiet.  
"Diana, why are you so silent girl?" Ella asks. I look at them.  
"I didn't want to interrupt your conversation," I tell them.  
Ella's phone suddenly buzzes.  
"Oh! Some of my friends are here!" she squeals. After walking a bit, Ella, out of the blue, grabs my arm and starts running, towing me behind her. At the other end of the mall are a group of 3 guys and a girl all looking at a map. Ella tows me straight to them.  
"Heeey!" Ella greets. They all turn and join in greeting us. All of their eyes turn to me.  
"Who's your friend here?" one of the guys asks giving me an odd unidentifiable expression. Despite my protests, Ella pushes me so that I am standing right in front of them. One of the guy’s chuckle.  
"You look like Bambi," he says.  
"What?!" I exclaim, frozen in fear and confusion.  
"Your eyes are huge right now- relax babe!" one guy says with a chuckle. I blink and make sure they aren't like Bambi's. The group laughs.  
"So," another guy says, coming to stand right next to me. He looks down at me with navy blue eyes. My stomach churns as a picture of Aelix flashes in my mind. "What’s Bambi's real name?"  
"Diana," Ella answers for me.  
"She’s Marie and I's new neighbor!"  
The girl looks at Ella hopefully.  
"Ugene moved away?!" She exclaims.  
The others look relieved.  
"No, Diana is his sister," Ella replies.  
Soon they all get in my personal space.  
"So you ARE real"  
"not what I was expecting Ugene's sister to act like..."  
"You poor girl!"  
An image of campers swarming me pops into my head, and I lose the strength in my legs. I collapse to the ground, my head luckily landing on someone's bag.  
Immediately three people help me up. Two of the guys grab firmly onto my arms and help me up. Ella leads the group over to a nearby bench for me to sit on.  
"Are you okay Diana?" Ella asks me.  
"I'm fine;" I brush it off quietly.  
"Are you sure?" Navy blue eyes asks. I don't make eye contact with him; instead I look at Ella.  
"So... They know my name, I don't know theirs..."  
Ella's face lights up.  
"Oh sorry!"  
The first person Ella points to is around 5ft 7inches. The girl has thick black nerd glasses. Her hair is short and is dyed so that it is a rainbow across her head. She has on a vest with paint splattered skinny jeans.  
"This is Avery, Marie's best friend," Ella says.  
"Where is Marie anyways?" Avery asks.  
"Target- she is looking for a movie" Ella tells Avery. Avery runs into Target.  
The next person Ella points to is a guy. He has long blonde hair styled like Thor's, but that is the only resemblance to the mighty Avenger. He is skinny as a twig, with chocolate colored skin. His clothes look like he got them in Frenchy's and he looks at me with a shy expression.  
"That is Lucas. He is an anorexic," Ella continues. Lucas waves to which I smile warmly and wave back. The next person is navy blue eyes. He looks as if he works out, but right now is wearing skinny jeans, a royal blue hoodie, and a blue beanie. The beanie covers up short straight black hair. His facial features, I realize, are similar to Aelix.  
"This is Nathan," she introduces.  
The last guy has a dragon tattoo on his arm. He has a ring piercing on his nose, one of his ears are pierced, and he has dark brown eyes and dirty blonde hair in a Mohawk. He wears a muscle shirt with short shorts, displaying a full leg tattoo. I can see one on his neck just peaking out.  
"Last but not least, Buzz," she says.  
"Your name is Buzz?" I ask.  
Buzz smirks.  
"You can call me Albert if you want to piss me off," he looks as if he is kidding but his eyes tell me different. I gulp nervously.  
"Let's go shopping!" Ella exclaims. She grabs my hand. "We are here to get Diana a new wardrobe,"  
Albert... I mean Buzz smiles menacingly.  
"What's your style? Are you a bad ass who loves wearing short leather skirts? Or are you one of those tight-ass Christian girls?" He asks. I shrug.  
"I don't really have a set style," I reply. Ella squeals.  
"You're like a life size Barbie doll!" She exclaims.  
The next few hours is one big blur of clothes, shoes, and lots of accessories. Near the end I have spent $2463 and have filled the back seat of the car with our bags. The guys are apparently only here to comment and judge the outfits. That is until now. Buzz and the guys are coming up with tattoo ideas for Buzz to get.  
"You could get a flaming skull," Nathan suggests. Buzz shakes his head.  
"Already have it," he dry states.  
"What about a snake?" Lucas suggests.  
"That's on my leg," Buzz gestures to his leg.  
"How about a tribal tattoo?" I suggest. Buzz thinks about it.  
"That's a good idea. I like it," he nods approvingly. Buzz grabs my hand and tows me through the mall.  
"What are you doing?" I question. Buzz smiles.  
"You are coming to see me get it done," he replies.  
"WHAT?!" I exclaim. I try to get out of his grasp but he has an iron hold on my wrist.  
The tattoo pallor is at the end of the mall. It looks spooky and run down with the lights in the windows flickering. Buzz knocks on the door, to which a guy who looks like he belongs on Duck Dynasty comes out.  
"Buzz for a 3:00 appointment," Buzz says.  
"And could you squeeze the lady in?"  
I look at him incredulous.  
"WHAT?! Aw HELL no!" I exclaim and then judo flip him. I know I shouldn't use my training in combat against mortals but I am NOT getting a tattoo. It's painful and the device is pretty much one big needle.  
"Ow..." Buzz complains just as the group catches up.  
"What did you do?" Nathan asks, trying to hide his smirk.  
"She freaking ninja flipped me!" Buzz yells.  
The others-Marie and Avery have joined the group- look at me in satisfaction.  
The tattoo guy helps Buzz to his feet and they go into the shop. Once Buzz is out of earshot, Avery gives me a high five.  
"That was a sick move! The wrestling team could use you!"  
I blush deeply.  
"It was nothing...” I brush off.  
"Come to try outs. Please?" Avery begs. I roll my eyes.  
"Fine, I'll try out," I cave. I told her I would try out, not that I would try to do my best.  
"Diana!" Ella exclaims "we should get your ears pierced!"  
"That'd be hot," Nathan adds.  
"Yeah you should get something pierced," Avery says. She lifts up her top to reveal a belly button piercing.  
"Why do I have to get something pierced? Can I keep my body the way it is?" I ask.  
"NOPE!" Avery exclaims before grabbing me around the waist. She starts running. I of course start kicking and yelling at her to put me down.  
"Never!" she calls to me. My heart aches as the memory of doing this with Aelix pops into my head. I stop flailing and get distracted. So distracted that I don't realize that I somehow for some reason agreed and am on a chair with Avery holding my head down so I won't squirm. I feel a small pinch on my earlobe and am soon feeling queasy. Avery pats my head.  
"Two more to go," she informs me.  
"TWO?!"  
"Yeah, you agreed to your lobes and the top part of your left ear" she states matter of factly.  
"I only want the lobes" I say to the piercing lady.  
"Fine with me," the lady dryly says.  
I feel another slight pinch in my other earlobe.  
"Done," Avery says, a bit disappointed.  
I pay for the piercings. My stomach feels as if it's going to burst. I find myself running over to the garbage can and puking into it. I feel someone hold my hair out of my face.  
"I think we had enough shopping for one day. School is in a few days, and you need rest. Let's go home once you’re feeling better." Marie suggests from behind me. All I do is nod.

Sandra’s POV  
Training without my bow and arrow is hard. I’m not used to fighting close up. Today is sword day for me. We have a schedule for who is going to train with what. Monday is spears, Tuesday is whips, Wednesday is swords, Thursday is daggers and Friday is whatever you want as long as it is close up.  
By the time I find a practice sword that is good and balanced, Josie and Eva are wrestling; their weapons are a few meters away. They roll around, throw a few punches, and upon noticing me, Joselyn drags me down. We end up entangled, breathing hard, and laughing our heads off.  
"What shall we work on next?" I ask in a weird British accent.  
"I think we should work on beheading the head so we can do it nice and clean to the nasty scum of a brother Dae has," Joselyn replies in an equally if not worse British accent. Suddenly the doors of the training arena burst open and Ammon comes running in. As soon as he spots us, he teleports to beside Eva.  
"You know how Chris said he wouldn't send the tracking device to Dae?"  
We nod.  
"Well I found someone who will," Ammon looks determined.  
It's sweet how our boyfriends care about Dae.  
Eva, Josie and I all exchange looks of relief.  
"Who?" Eva asks, slightly skeptical.  
"Ginnifer Stroud; She is our age. I ran into her on the way out from begging Chris to do it. She said that she overheard my predicament and would love to help out," Ammon says really quickly. Eva jumps right up and gives him a kiss smack-dab on the lips. Josie and I chuckle at Ammon's look of surprise. Once they part, he says:  
"there's only one catch..." our faces drop.  
"The device will have to be activated by Dae herself so unless we can talk to her we can't get the signal going."  
"How is that helpful; we don't know where she is!" I exclaim.  
Ammon looks at me.  
"Have you guys tried to call her cell?"  
"Patrick put a charm on it," Joselyn says "We have all tried, even Kacey tried."  
"We will just have to hope that she will know what to do and can activate it."


	4. Bullies

No POV  
Ugene always got up at 5 am. He doesn't know why, it's just the set time his body has. No matter how late the night before- even if he stays up until 4 am- Ugene always gets up at 5. Usually, he is the only one up and therefore has the job of waking up their mom at 7 in the morning. He would go down into the basement and play video games or finish homework or even go somewhere (making sure he came back to wake his mother). But that was before Diana came.  
Now, he still wakes up at 5am, but he has a few more things he can do. Ugene's favorite pass time is watching his sister sleep. But not in the way most people think. Ugene has been fascinated by the way people sleep since his brother had to get his vocal cords removed, and Ugene wondered about how the sleepy gas worked. So for him, watching his sister sleep is interesting.  
He takes note of how she looks younger when she sleeps. He looks at the position of her body-curled up into a ball- and how deeply she breaths, how deep into the blankets she is, her facial expression, her movements, and especially when she sleep talks.  
For the past week, Diana has been having nightmares. And for the past week, Ugene has tried to comfort her. But the thought of Ugene touching her seemed life threatening and she would just get more upset. Yet Ugene keeps attempting.  
Today he wakes up at 5am, gets dressed, eats breakfast, and after going out for a quick jog and taking his drug, he saunters downstairs to where Diana is sleeping. Today Ugene is going to try a new method of calming his sister and earn her trust. He sits at the end of the bed and waits.  
Diana start whispering three names; Aelix, Ugene and Patrick, like she has done for the past few days. Ugene would usually wake her up at this point, but since he is trying a new method, he doesn't. Diana's skin starts to dampen- from both sweat and tears- her body starts to shake violently and her head thrashed against the pillows. Ugene decides to intervene. He careful slips into bed beside her, places his arm around her, and to his surprise, she stops thrashing. The next thing she does makes Ugene feel victorious; Diana turns around and snuggles into him. Her breaths aren't as ragged and quick, and she begins to relax. Ugene sends up a silent 'thank you' to whichever god is responsible. Ugene's victory is short lived though, for one name escapes her lips:  
"Aelix..."  
Ugene's heart ached. That low life, pathetic son of Phobos isn't good enough for Diana. The only man that Diana should ever truly love is Ugene. In a jealous rage, Ugene shakes his sister to get up.  
"Wake up!" he growls. Just as expected, she slowly opens her eyes, they have eye contact for 3 seconds, and she screams. Diana backs away, falls out of bed, and bumps her head on the bedside table. Patrick teleports down.  
"What the hell?!" Patrick grumpily asks.  
"Ugene was touching me!"  
"I was just trying to comfort my sister; I don't see what I did wrong!"  
Patrick sighs. He looks at Diana.  
"Nightmares?" he dryly asks. Diana nods and shrinks back behind the bookcase.  
"Diana..." Patrick sounds impatient. He snaps his fingers; a black mist forms on Ugene's lap, which turns into Diana. Ugene wraps his arm around her immediately, she squirms, but to no ado.  
"Now I'm going to go back upstairs to sleep. Diana you may go back to sleep if you please, it is," pat checks the TV in the other room “7:00; time for you both to get ready for school!"  
And with that, Patrick disappears. Ugene let's go of Diana and she bounds away. Ugene slithers off the bed and leaves. When he gets to the stairs, Ugene calls  
"I'm going to make breakfast"  
Ugene marches up to Patrick's room. Just before the son of Dionysus can knock, Patrick steps out. He regards Ugene with a surprised expression. He has a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth, his (fake) FBI suitcase- it carries fake ID's, USB's, a computer, and some stuff for potions- in hand and in a tuxedo.  
"Diana isn't adjusting. In order to complete Master Ares plan, she has to trust us and not THEM," Ugene harshly whispers.  
Patrick rolls his eye, walks into the washroom, spits out all that dental care stuff, and goes back to Ugene.  
"I'll work something out," he states.  
"Did you take the drug today?"  
Patrick asks. Ugene nods. Patrick ruffles his hair before going down for the breakfast Ugene kindly made. At this point, Diana is up out of her bed and has already downed 2 pancakes, part of a bowl of raisins, and some milk. She looks at them like a deer in the headlights.  
"Diana, if you keep eating like that, we could cook you for Christmas dinner!" Ugene jokes. Diana doesn't respond; coming from Ugene, she doesn't know if he is being serious or not.  
"What is my schedule?" Diana asks after a long pause.  
"A student is going to be appointed to show you around. They get to miss portions of their class to show you around; it's a really good system. They have a group specifically for that kind of stuff. If I remember correctly, Marie is in that group," Patrick answers.  
"Do we take the bus?" she asks.  
"Not today," Pat swallows some pancakes “I am going to drive you to school and you will need to be bused home unless you get a drive," Pat brushes off the crumbs. Martin then decides to come down. He is all ready for school, and heads out the door.  
"Wait, doesn't Martin go to our school?" Diana asks.  
"He goes to a special school for the visually, vocally, and hearing impaired," Ugene answers. He takes the plate away from Diana. "Now go get dressed, and in something hot," Ugene puts on the dishwasher.  
"Why something hot?" Diana asks, immediately regretting it.  
"So you get a good rating from the jocks; aka me and my friends." Ugene grins sinisterly. Diana bolts down the stairs, away from her brother. She storms into her room, plops down on the air mattress, and cries. She cries about how much her life has changed, her friends, and Aelix. The nightmares have been recurring and are always the same thing; Patrick and Ares killing her friends and everything she loves right in front of her, and Ugene holding her down whispering into her ear "you brought them to their death Diana. YOU are the real murderer. Everything you touch turns to failure. You're a FAILURE little sister. No one will ever love you; they'd have to be clueless or always high," over and over into her ear. Diana cries until her eyes are dry. She checks the clock; it reads 8:00. School starts at 9:15.  
Diana washes her face in the bathroom, does all the usual, and gets ready for her first day. Diana decides on wearing a pair of purple skinny jeans with a simple black shirt that has ‘Be Your Own Hero’ written in rainbow letters on it. Diana grabs a royal purple sweater to slip on. She applies some mascara, not too much, and after braiding her raven curls over her shoulder, grabs her purple backpack (which has everything she needs thanks to Patrick) and heads upstairs. When Diana gets upstairs, she is suddenly tackled to the ground. A sharp object is placed on the back of her neck and she feels it enter her skin. She would have screamed but some invisible force is stopping her. Diana feels tears coming up again- she takes a second to thank the gods the mascara is waterproof- and she kicks out her legs.  
"Relax, it's just me," Ugene's chill out tone doesn't settle her nerves. Diana finally finds her voice.  
"What the hell Ugene?!" She yells. Ugene casually gets off of his sister.  
"You need the medicine that prevents the dyslexia and ADHD. Otherwise not many people would accept you."  
"MEDICINE?" Diana exclaims. She is unable to get up even though Ugene is off of her. "Ugene, help me up you jerk!"  
Diana can feel his smirk.  
"Unless you want a bunch of boys after you, don't be as feisty!" Ugene advises. He rolls his sister over, picks her up bridal style, picks up her bag, and heads for the car.  
"The frozen feeling should be gone in like 5 minutes. Until then, I will sit in the back with you," Ugene decides. He gently places his frozen sister in the back seat, puts on her seatbelt, and buckles up right next to her. Patrick is already at the front seat.  
"Patty, are we driving the girls next door?" Ugene calls up. As if to answer that question, Ella and Marie knock on the door of the car.  
"We are going to tell them that she is really nervous, hence the frozenness," Pat tells Ugene "And don't call me Patty!"  
Ella and Marie enter; indeed they ask about Diana and Ugene tells them the lie. Ella and Marie offer some encouraging words before the car gets into motion.  
Pearson High is the size of 25 churches put together in a square. The building looks fairly new and has three levels. It has a huge parking lot in front equipped with a bus lane and teacher parking. By the time they get to school, Diana is unfrozen but still super nervous. She always is when transferring to a new school. Ugene, Ella and Marie all file out of the car. Ugene turns around before leaving the car to see Diana looking at the school with a thoughtful yet scared look about her.  
"Number 18..." she thinks out loud. Ugene extends his hand to her, a loving and brotherly look to his face.  
"You'll do fine. Want to know how I know?" Diana nods but doesn't take his hand. "Because you are my sister. The Summers family are known for their strength and leadership during hard times," he crawls back so that he is actually able to grab her hand. Ugene guides her out of the car. For a second, Diana feels as if she can trust Ugene. It quickly goes away for Ugene's face tenses before going back to his normal smug expression.  
As soon as they enter the school, a group of guys around Ugene's age run up to Diana and Ugene. The son of Dionysus is met by a chorus of greetings while Diana hides behind him. Suddenly she feels an arm wrap around her shoulders. Without looking to see who it is, she grabs the arm, twists it, and judo flips the guy to the ground. Ugene's friends all laugh, whistle, and clap for her. Diana looks to see that the person she flipped was one of Ugene's friends.  
"She's a feisty one Ugene," he smirks "I might have to take this one home with me..."  
In two seconds flat, Diana has him in a painful headlock.  
"I'm NOT going home with anyone!" Diana snarls before dropping him. She gets off of Ugene's friend. She turns to Ugene.  
"Where do I go?" she asks as though nothing happened.  
"Office. I have to go attend to some stuff, so how about Daniel shows you to the office?"  
On cue, a guy steps forward. He has straight blonde hair that looks as if he didn't brush it this morning. He wears ripped up jeans and a T-shirt that says "SWAG" on it. He is the same height as Ugene. Daniel makes Diana uncomfortable.  
"I'll take my chances being alone," Diana turns and walks toward what she guesses is the office but Ugene knows it's the student council room.  
"Hello?" she calls into the door after knocking on it. The door opens to reveal Ella, Marie, Lucas, Nathan and some other people.  
"Diana!" Ella and Marie exclaims.  
"Sup Bambi?" Nathan smiles innocently. He is wearing his beanie with a pair of purple skinny jeans, a grey V neck and a pair of converse.  
Diana smacks him lightly on the shoulder.  
"I'm looking for the main office for my schedule, and apparently someone is going to show me to all of my classes," she looks at Marie and Ella. Looking at Nathan makes Diana think of Aelix, and she can't afford to break down on her first day.  
Ella smiles at Diana.  
"I'll check the board for you- student council is in charge of new students," Marie says before walking through a big group of people. She comes back over.  
"Nathan is your guide," Marie informs Dae.

Diana’s POV  
Nathan is my guide. Out of all of the student council, NATHAN is my guide! Well let the mental breakdowns begin... I think. The expression on my face must have been hilarious because Nathan starts laughing his head off.  
"Well, looks like you're stuck with me. Come on, I'll show you around!" Before I can respond, Nathan links arms with me, and pretty much drags me down the huge hallway. Our first stop is the office, which I learn is at the front of the school. I look at the schedule and information pack the nice secretary gave me. My schedule (Ugene and Patrick must have picked it out) reads:  
Period 1- English  
Period 2- Dance/wrestling  
Period 3- Math  
Period 4- Body education  
I notice Nathan looking over my schedule. He is smiling.  
"We have English, wrestling, math, and body education together!" he triumphantly says.  
"What’s with the dance/wrestling?" I ask.  
"One day you will have dance, the next you will have wrestling. I have sports practice while you have dance." Nathan explains.  
"And what's body education?" I am hesitant about this one.  
"It is learning about what your body can do," he explains.  
"May I?" Nathan smiles while extending his arm out as if asking to dance. I look into his navy blue eyes, my mind flashes to Aelix.  
Aelix, I wish you and my friends were here, I think. I take Nathan's arm.  
Screw it; I'm obviously not leaving Denver anytime soon. Might as well make the best of it! I think as he leads me to one section of the school.

Turns out Ugene is in my Wrestling class. Ella is in English and Math. Marie is in English and Math. Lucas is in Body Education. And Buzz is apparently skipping all of his classes today.  
My English teacher is very nice. After she was done attendance, she got me to stand in front of the class and introduce myself. I always get nervous when doing this my first day, with all those fake identities it was hard to keep track of the names. But today I just had to say my real name.  
"And we have a new student in our midst," Mrs. Higgins says in her pixie-type voice. She gestures to me to come up to the front. With a little push from Nathan and Marie, I shuffle up to the front. I hear the whispers as I go up.  
"That’s Ugene's sister"  
"so she is real"  
"she doesn't look like a slut"  
I don't know whether to take that last one as a compliment or an insult. I look at my toes while saying my name.  
"Diana Summers" I mumble. The teacher puts her hands on my shoulders.  
"Diana Summers all the way from Camp Half-blood!" she loudly introduces. I look at her wide-eyed.  
"From where?" I ask. The class chuckles.  
"From New Jersey dear. Surely you know where you lived?" Mrs. Higgins chuckles at me.  
"Right," I say. I must have had a hallucination the first time. I shuffle back to my seat while the class chuckles at me.  
I pay close attention to what she instructs. It's my first time actually being able to read something. I take notes from the back of the classroom all while getting weird looks from people.  
"she's nothing like Ugene" I hear someone say.  
"They look related" another says.  
"Why is her hair so long?" another says.  
I try not to focus on the gossip. Ella and Marie are near the front of the room taking notes as well.  
The class flies by. The bell startled me and I duck under the desk. Some people laugh, others try to hide their smirks, while Nathan climbs under.  
"Are you okay?" he asks. I nod; he chuckles.  
"You look like Bambi again," Nathan observes. He grabs hold of my hands and slides me out from under the table.  
"Just don't do that every time. If you keep doing that, the teachers will send you to guidance."  
With that, Nathan leads me to Dance.

Nothing exciting happens in Dance. Same thing as English; I introduce myself (but less shy) and get on with the class. Again there are people who gossip about me. At lunch, Nathan shows me to my locker (which is right next to his, lucky me) and helps me with opening and organizing it. We eat in the cafeteria. Ugene comes over with my lunch, and I eat it. Since I finish my lunch, I head back to my locker to put away my stuff.  
While closing my locker, I feel someone wrap their hands around my waist. I struggle but it's no use; my captor is really strong. My eyes get covered and the person leads me. We go from a hard floor to concrete, then to grass. I am stripped of my sweater, showing my arm. My eyes get uncovered. Ugene and all of his friends are sitting on the grass of the football field.  
Oh right, the judging thing, I recall.  
I then realize that my arm is uncovered. I quickly cross my arms.  
"What do you want?" I demand. One of the guys stands up and walks toward me. He circles me- Ajax circling me pops into my head and I again feel homesick- as he examines me. He picks up my braid, looking at my hair. He orders me to lift up my arms.  
"No!" I protest. This gets me in trouble. The guy- whom I figure out is a football player- finger tasers me. Not expecting this, I fall to the ground not too gracefully. A chorus of laughter follows. He grabs my right arm, lifting me up and off the ground like a rag doll. I kick and struggle but to no ado; I am too tiny for this guy.  
"What's this on your arm?" he asks.  
Tears sting and threaten to come out but I hold them back.  
"Ugene!" I call. I don't expect him to help, but it's worth a shot.  
No answer.  
"What is the thing on your arm?" the guy asks again.  
"Nathan! Lucas! Buzz! Ella! Marie!" I yell. A bunch of people snicker.  
"We’ve got a feisty fight here guys. Who wants her?" the guy holding me asks. I finally figure out what to do. He turns me so that I face him.  
"I'd say she is a 9 on my scale." he says, making an awkward face at me that was probably meant to be seductive. I then proceed in kicking him in the crotch as hard as I can. He drops me immediately. I start to run.  
"She's making a run for it!" I hear someone yell from behind me. In the blink of an eye, three guys appear right in my tracks. The middle guy, Ugene, grabs hold of my arm.  
"Just behave, okay? They are almost done," he pleads. I don't respond. Suddenly I see a color shift in his eyes. His jaw tenses. And his grip on me tightens  
"If you don't do this, I will sneak into your room tonight and you don't want to know what I am capable of" he whispers into my ear through gritted teeth. A tear protrudes from my eye as I turn and walk back over. Out of 13 guys, I got three 8's, two 10's and eight 9's for a rank. Ugene was in three who scored me as an 8. I have guys smelling me, touching my right arm, and some of them picked me up to feel how heavy I am. Since Ugene, Pat and (without knowing) mom starves me, I don't weigh that much to them. Ugene comes up afterward and gives me a hug. He picks me up; I struggle but go still when he says "remember what I might be capable of".  
"Who wants her?" Ugene asks.  
I look down and see that if I point my foot, I could kick him in the groin. So I do, just like the last one. Ugene crumples down, so I do it again quickly before sprinting off into the school. This time I only have five guys running after me and I can out run them. When I enter the school, I storm right past the cafeteria, and find an open and empty janitor closet (my usual cry spot). There's a knock at the door a few minutes later. I squeeze myself into the corner and hide behind the garbage can. The door opens; light floods the closet.  
"Diana?" Lucas and Nathan call. I don't respond. "We know you're in here," Nathan adds "we saw you running with tears streaming down your face"  
Lucas is the first one I actually see. We make eye contact; I try to make myself smaller but Lucas has already spotted me. They remove the garbage can and come to sit on either side of me. Not wanting them to see me cry, I put my head in my knees.  
"Let me guess- they all ranked you?" Nathan softly whispers as he rubs my back in a circular motion. I nod.  
"Where’s your sweater?" Lucas asks. He is trying to probe me out of my ball.  
"They took it off," I tell them.  
Nathan, whom is on my right, tries to get me to look up. I swat him away.  
"Diana," Nathan's tone is full of worry "what happened to your arm?"  
I know that he doesn't know about how I got the stitches but I cry harder anyways.  
"You can't give into their bullying; it only makes it worse. You have to tell a trusted adult" Lucas advises.  
"I don't have any here," I state while letting out a sob.  
"Did you have any back in New Jersey?"  
I nod my head. They don't talk for a bit; they are probably deciding what to do.  
"You can't let them take away your happiness," Lucas says. My mind flashes back to the day of the dance when I was telling off Ugene. A fierce rage builds up inside me. I grab a roll of toilet paper, freshen up my nose/ face and stand up. They stand up as well.  
"You're right; I can't let them take away my happiness."  
With that, I march right out of the closet, back to the field. My little group and Buzz (where did he come from?) follow me curiously. Ugene and his friends are still out on the field, judging another girl. They all look in my direction when my group go over to them... I approach with such confidence and ferocity that none of them get up. I cock my hip and cross my arms.  
"Ugene," I greet coldly "I would like my sweater."  
Some of the guys laugh.  
"You mean the purple one you had on? It's somewhere special," Ugene smugly replies.  
Again, his friends chuckle.  
"You'll have to earn it!" one of them calls. My eyes flicker up to the dude who spoke.  
"How do I earn it?" I ask.  
The guy who spoke snaps his fingers; one of the guys stands up. The guy who stands before me is pretty beefed up. He has 'no pain no gain' tattooed on his arm.  
"Fight Ricky here and win. That's how," Ugene instructs. I walk up to Ricky.  
"Good luck," I put in as much sweetness and innocence as I can muster and when he takes my hand for the shake, I kick him in the groin. He falls to his knees. Ricky doesn't have any padding so I let go of his hand and do a round house kick. Blood starts slowly streaming down from his mouth. I go to kick him, but he stands up, grabs my leg and I soon find myself swinging around. I reach to touch my toes but instead grab his wrist. He let's go and I am hanging by my hands. I slip and let go. I go flying through the air. Thinking back to strength class, I do rolls in the air so that I land on my feet. I see him pounce at the last second so I roll over to the right a little bit. Ricky runs over to the equipment shack. I look back at Ugene.  
"How’s that?" I call. In the blink of an eye, my face is in the dirt.  
What the hell?  
I hear some snickers as Nathan, Ella, Marie, and Lucas call my name. I look up in time to see that Ricky has a dodge ball in his hands. I try to get up, but when I put pressure on my right leg, my ankle feels like it is going to snap. Ricky looks down at me.  
"No sweater for you," he leans down closer to me "and I think I'll take your shirt as a prize..."  
That's it. I kick him in the temple as hard as I can, but scream out in pain when realizing that I kicked him with my injured foot. Ricky drops to the ground, out cold.  
I then notice the crowd that has formed. A guy approaches me, looking like he is in his early 30's, and helps me up. He shakes my hand.  
"Hi my name is Bruce Barns, gym teacher and coach of the wrestling team,"  
In the corner of my eye, I see Ugene over somewhere with an indecisive facial expression.  
"How would you like to be on the wrestling team when you get out of detention?"  
Everyone around is silent. I look at them all nervously.  
"I'll think about it," I reply while trying to catch my breath. Everyone goes back to minding their own business. Everyone except Marie, Ella, Nathan, Buzz, Lucas and Ugene.  
"Dude, you kicked ASS!!!!" Buzz congratulates. He pats me on the back.  
“Yeah, but I got detention for it,” I reply. We all turn to see Ugene sheepishly coming over with my jacket. He thrusts it towards me.  
"Thanks," I snatch it from him and put it on, glad for the cover it gives me. Ugene puts an arm around me (he has to bend a bit, seeing that he is 6ft 1in. And I'm 5ft 5in.) And he makes it so that Buzz and he are lifting me up off of my injured ankle. I look to see that the school nurse and some football players are carrying a confused Ricky away.  
I am holding onto Buzz and Ugene's shoulders as Ugene lifts up my hurt ankle. He gestures for Buzz to let go of me and he reluctantly does so. I whimper before trusting that Ugene won't drop me. My friends pay close attention to make sure Ugene doesn't try anything.  
"Don’t try to attract attention to yourself. The bigger your reaction, the more they will be drawn to bugging you," Ugene whispers. I look at him oddly.  
"Did you just give me some brotherly advice?" I question. Ugene rolls his eyes.  
"Yeah. I'm supposed to for the most part behave-Patrick’s orders." he pauses "how did little you beat up the head of the wrestling team?" he muses.  
Head of the wrestling team?  
"I don't know; just relied on my training."  
Ugene chuckles while smiling to himself. I wipe my eyes; did he just chuckle happily? And smile normally?  
"So do I get a prize for beating him up?" I ask, joking.  
"You get the comfort in knowing that I might get pummeled by the heads of the different sports teams. On the bright side, I'll be getting twenty bucks."  
"What did you do?" I am intrigued.  
"I had a bet with the guys. We bet on who would win that fight. Ox or you. I would have had to give up $100 if it wasn't for your training."  
I smack him lightly.  
"You knew that wasn't fair!" I exclaim. He chuckles again.  
"Well I had my doubts..." then he winks. For the first time, I giggle because of Ugene.

When we get in to the school, I am escorted to the nurse's office. She wraps my ankle, telling me to squeeze Ugene's hand when it hurt; Ugene's hand ends up red after. I have a single tear running down my face once the nurse finishes. The nurse goes into her office the same time one of the vice principals come in. He gives me a nice little speech about the bullying policy and how since I'm new that I'm going to be left with a warning and no detention. The VP shakes my hand, welcomes me to the school then leaves to go talk to Ricky. The nurse comes back with some crutches for me to use.  
"Patrick's not going to be pleased," I tell Ugene.  
He looks at me with an unreadable expression.  
"You’d be surprised; he's probably going to be quite happy that you are learning to fight and how to put that mostly tiny body to use," Ugene looks for the nurse. When he knows that she is out of earshot, he leans in closer to me.  
"Now when you get injured at school or in front of mortals that we will see again, we can't heal you. When it's training, we will. In fact, we might heal you when we get home and then you can just act like it still hurts," Ugene has this weird glow in his eyes. He tentatively touches my levitated hurt ankle, watching my face as he does so. He leans down, gently presses his lips to the tenser, and kisses my ankle.  
"Get well soon," he tells my ankle. I can't help but smile.  
The nurse comes back.  
"So here are your late slips," she hands us little slips of paper "and here is the elevator key" she gives the key to me. "Now scurry off the class!" she barks. I grab my crutches, Ugene collects my stuff, and we leave the nurses office.

Math is okay. Now that I can actually read, I find that I'm good at math. Not enough to be on the Matheletes but I could get a 90% if I wanted to. My math teacher just introduces me and gets right into the outcomes we will be covering. Body Education is a different story. First off, the teacher is really chubby. I don't want to sound mean but he is the definition of chubby. He has a thick mustache that matches his snow like hair. He is tall and wears nerd glasses. He looks as if he hasn't slept in days and looks at me with a familiar look. The teacher gets me to stand in front of the class and say my name, name as many organs as possible, point them out, then explain what happened to my foot in a doctor type way. I do everything but the last one; the teacher doesn't care. They ask if I could help demonstrate; I oblige but tell him that I have barriers. He gets me to put my feet inside an x-ray machine. Then the class has to point out all the 'problem' areas. He says that I don't have to, that I can just look off of someone. I find out that his name is Mr. Fitzgerald.  
"How’s your ankle?" he asks after coming back with all the pictures of my ankle.  
"I don't know; you tell me" I say. I have been starring at the clock for the past 15 minutes, keeping my leg elevated. Mr. Fitzgerald chuckles.  
"I mean does it hurt?"  
I think about it.  
I shrug.  
I have felt worse like the feeling of your life drifting away... I almost say but don't. He gets Ugene to pass out the papers. They exchange some words; Mr. Fitzgerald nods. I watch him reach into his pocket, pull out a vial of golden liquid, and Ugene walks over to me. He hands me the liquid.  
"Drink this- you'll feel better," he looks like no one is supposed to know that he has this. I furrow my brows at him. He winks at me.  
I examine the liquid.  
This looks a lot like nectar... I think during my examination. Ugene passes by me. He stops abruptly and backtracks.  
"Drink it sissy," he commands. He doesn't move.  
"What is it?" I ask.  
"Nectar," Ugene straight up tells me. I look around alarmingly.  
"Don't say that out loud!" I whisper. Ugene chuckles.  
"Did you know that Mr. Fitzgerald is actually Patrick?"  
My jaw hits the floor, sending Ugene into a fit of laughter.  
"He alters the mist so that we don't get in too much trouble and so that mortals don't hear or see anything they shouldn't." Ugene explains once the giggles die down. I shrug and drink the liquid.  
"So what is Pat doing with the mist now?" I ask with genuine curiosity.  
"Well, people think that you are actually participating in class. They think that I am taking notes for you right now, and that Pat is an old man like you saw him."  
I give him an impressed look.  
"Now that I think about it, you aren't as dumb as I thought," I tell him before grabbing my crutches and going over to Lucas.  
"I'm not dumb!" Ugene calls. The class looks at Ugene and some people snicker.  
Lucas doesn't notice me until I am right beside him. He doesn't meet my eyes.  
"Hey Diana," he softly says.  
"Hi Lucas. How's my ankle?" I ask, trying to make conversation. Lucas looks up at me with big blue eyes that startle me a bit when I first truly look into them.  
"It’s um a little fractured..." his hands shake nervously. I look at his arm and notice how he wears a long sleeve shirt when it's really hot outside. I look at his paper, which has a bunch of pencil marks on it. I point to them giving him the best 'yeah, right' look I can muster.  
"A LITTLE fractured? Doesn't look like a little," I tease. He smiles a bit, something in which I recall is very rare for him. But it comes slower than it goes and he returns his focus back to the paper. He flips to the next picture, which is of a hand. Lucas gets right to work.  
"So, I have no clue what to do, can you help?" I ask.  
"I thought that Ugene was helping you..." Lucas monotones.  
"I'd rather that you explain it to me," I tell him.  
I get Ugene to bring over a booklet of x-rays for me. So for the rest of the day, that's what I do. Lucas helps me when I don't know what to do on the booklet, I try to get him to talk a bit more and by the end of the class and the day, I have succeeded in only one of those things. Mr. Fitzgerald/Patrick is impressed with how I finished the booklet and by the tone of voice he uses when he congratulates me, I can tell he thought that I wouldn't get it done. Nathan helps me open my locker, seeing that it is the first locker I have had, and tells me what to do with it.  
"So why do you not know what a locker is?" he chuckles slightly.  
"I went to a private school in New Jersey," I tell him without thinking. I then realize that I told him something of my past and blush whilst looking away.  
"A private school? Anywhere else?"  
"I have been to normal schools but at most of them we either had desks or used our backpacks," I tell him.  
"Huh," he looks like he is imagining a world without lockers. I reach into my locker to put in my textbooks, causing the sleeve on my jacket to slide up my arm and reveal the top of my scar. Nathan looks at it.  
"Diana, can you please explain to me what happened to your arm?" he sounds pained and a little curious.  
"What do you mean?" I play dumb, but I do this only to find out what Nathan sees.  
"There is a big scar on your arm..."  
"Oh that," I look down shamefully “I had to get some stuff done to the muscle and bone in it. No biggy."  
Nathan grabs my wrist. He put a finger near the top of the scar.  
"Do you mind if I feel it?" he asks. I chuckle- who asks to feel a scar? - and allow him to. It tingles at his touch. When his finger is near where the circles used to be, I notice that they turn a dim version of the color that used to be there. Nathan doesn’t seem to notice. He smiles at me before pulling me in for a hug. I don't know how to react at first but I return the hug.  
"I'm sorry if I am freaking you out..." Nathan pulls away sheepishly but when he looks at me all I can see is sympathy in his navy blue eyes.  
"Please, I live with Ugene. This is nothing compared to what he does," I reassure him while closing my locker. Nathan closes his locker. "Well, see you tomorrow!" he calls before running to the front of the school.  
I exit the school, a sad look on my face.  
I was supposed to go to school with Joselyn or Eva, or Sandra... I think. I had imagined that we would all go to school; pretend to be normal, look for demigods, all that good stuff. But no, I am here with Ugene.  
"come on sister, let's go," Ugene, whom is now next to me, says in a gleeful manner.  
"Why are you so dapper?" I sorely ask him. He looks at me with a weird expression.  
"Well, I may have just gotten you a few potential boyfriends!" he exclaims.  
I stop in my tracks.  
"You what?" I growl, tears threaten to overflow.  
"A few of the guys asked my permission to be your boyfriend!" Ugene looks so happy in an evil way.  
"I already have a boyfriend," I say through gritted teeth.  
"You HAD a boyfriend you mean," he says. I walk straight up to him, grab my brother by the collar and pull him down to my eye level.  
"what do you mean HAD?!"  
"I killed him" Ugene tells me with venom in his voice. I inhale sharply.  
"No" I let go of his collar.  
"Yes," he grabs my upper arm.  
"No!" I feel the tears start to slip from my face.  
"Yes," he pulls me closer.  
"NO!" I scream, my cheeks now moist with tears. I wriggle free from Ugene and make a run for the parking lot. I spot Patrick's car. I quickly run up to it, open the driver's side door, and look for the thing I want. There it is sitting, a bag of them in the glove compartment. I grab the bag and hastily put it into my pocket.  
"Diana, Pat has the keys. You know for the most powerful Dionysus kid, you sure can be stupid," he says. I look at him with pain in my eyes.  
"I thought he might be in the car. That's why I ran over," I lie to him. Thankfully Ugene buys it and gets in the car.  
"So this means no bus?" I ask. Ugene looks at me as if I just asked him what the first 30 digits of pi is.  
"I just told you that I killed your precious Aelix and you're not trying to kill me? You aren't even the slightest bit upset?"  
I dry my eyes. I know what I must do.  
"You know the old saying; There’s plenty of fish in the sea," I tell him, trying not to show my anger. His expression deepens.  
"Besides... Trying out those friends of yours could be fun! I mean, I handled myself good today, right?"  
All Ugene can do is nod his head.  
"Man, you two are super speedy," Patrick comments before getting into the car.

When we get home, I go straight to my room. I open up the dresser, dump it, sort through everything, and I also try on everything. Tomorrow I won't try to run away, or to act like what Ugene expects me to. Tomorrow I won't be influenced by anyone who bullies me or tries to get into my pants. Today I will go for my run as per usual and when I get to the stream, I will use the drachma I found to contact Camp Half Blood. I will see for myself if what Ugene claims is true.


	5. The Hidden and the Secret

Dae’s POV- One Week Later

"Patrick I'm going on my run!" I call. Ugene is going to football later so I am going to train in the woods until it is time for the game. I haven't been able to go on my run for a week and I can feel its impact; my muscles are really tight as I do my pre-run stretches.  
A black mist appears before me and turns into Patrick. He looks at me weirdly; I look up at him from my current leg stretch.  
"Your mom is going to drive you and Martin to the game once she gets back from work. I am driving him to practice which he has before each game," he holds out his hand; a water bottle appears.  
"you'll need this," he says.  
I stand up and take the bottled water before rushing out the door.  
Today I go right instead of left. In the corner of my eye, I see Ella and Marie in their living room. I sense movement and soon they run out to me. I stop.  
"Hey Diana wassup?" Ella says.  
"Nothing just, going on a jog," I answer.  
"Are you going to the game tonight?" Marie asks. She now has a boyfriend on the team; Nathan.  
"Uh yeah. I kinda have to because my brother is playing in it," I reply. I feel the bag of drachmas in my pocket, the whole reason I'm going on this run.  
"Okay cool. Do you mind if I run with you?" Marie asks.  
Crap! I was hoping that she wouldn't ask that! I think to myself. It would be rude say no, and she is one of the people I actually like here...  
"Uh yeah but I'm going to this special spot in the woods to do some workouts..." I trail off. Marie shrugs.  
"Fine with me!"

As it turns out, Marie is really fast. Me, not so much. By the time I get to my little training spot, Marie has climbed an apple tree and retrieved 5 apples. (2 apples are already gone and Marie is working on number three). How she knew about my little training spot, I have no clue.  
"Hey want an apple?" She asks, looking down at me with a pleased grin that causes me to smile. I quickly climb the tree to sit next to her.  
"Sure," I snatch an apple from the branch above us. Marie laughs.  
"So why do you come here to train? Why do you need to train?" she inquires.  
"I don't really know why I come here specifically. And I train to keep fit," I tell her as much of the truth I can.  
"Alrighty then. 130 sit ups!" Marie commands. I get right to it causing Marie to laugh.  
"Every ten you do, you get a bite out of this apple," she mocks by waving the apple around. I am done in about 3 minutes which judging by Marie's facial expression is inhuman thing to do.  
"how did you do those so quickly?!" she exclaims.  
"I've been practicing," I take the apple out of her hand and take a big bite out of it.  
After a few more exercises, I feel as though we are being watched. At every sound my head snaps in the direction the sound comes from. It might be the medicine wearing off allowing my ADHD to kick in.  
"are you ok?" Marie asks mid-push up. I nod.  
"I have ADHD," I admit but then realize what I have just said. Marie looks at me thoughtfully.  
"Really?" she says.  
What have I done? Surely she won't accept me now that she knows I have ADHD! I'm going to become friendless and end up eating lunch alone. Ugene's friends would come and pick on me every day, flirting, challenging me, and placing bets.  
"That's cool, I have it to!" Marie says energetically.  
Wait what? Did I hear her correctly?  
"R-r-r-really?" I say stuttering a bit.  
"Yup!"  
Suddenly a buzzing sound comes from her pocket. Marie pulls out her phone and answers.  
"Hello? - Yes we are done- she is here- ok! - bye Mr. Nealson!" with that she hangs up.  
"Your dad-"  
I cut her off.  
"Patrick,"  
She looks at me weirdly.  
"Patrick wants you to come home and get ready for the game," Marie informs me. I nod.  
"It's going to be really boring- I have no clue how the points are made!" I exclaim on our jog back. Marie just laughs.  
"That's ok!" she grabs another apple. "Race ya!" she says before booking it out of the forest. I pause, then realizing what she said, I take a short cut.  
At one point my hair elastic snaps causing my black curls to get in my face. When I get to the house, I don't see Marie.  
I get a face full of grass.  
"Boo!" Marie exclaims from on top of me. She starts laughing; I groan.  
"How did you get here so fast?" I groan. I hear the distinct crunch of an apple.  
"I ran. I have been running for a while. Training for a marathon," she says.  
"Marie? Diana?" I hear Wanda say. "What on earth are you two doing?"  
Marie giggles as she gets up off of me. Wanda chuckles.  
"Go get cleaned up Diana; I am leaving in a few minutes."  
I say a quick goodbye before booking it downstairs then up to the bathroom.

Football confuses me. I have no clue what the score is, I can't tell who is who, and I can't differ between the teams. I was expecting confusion so I brought a book "The Hunger Games".  
Martin isn't too fond of football either and he just sits there texting. When I try to peak over his shoulder, he turns the phone away from my view (but not fast enough to hide that he is texting Mark). Wanda and Patrick however are a whole different story. They both have face paint on, foam fingers, and jerseys. They participate in all the team's cheers, shout and woot whenever something positive happen for our team.  
"Go baby go!" I hear Wanda yell.  
I feel a tap on my shoulder. Looking up I see Patrick holding out some money.  
"Can you go get us some food?" he yells. I groan but agree.  
While on my way over I pass some of the sports guys who judged me on my first day. They decide to follow me; I subconsciously pull down my sweater sleeve to cover my arm. The one called Daniel puts his arm around me.  
"So I saw what you did to Ricky... And I think that was pretty hot." he says. I walk a little faster while rolling my eyes. I have stayed low key for the past week at school, hoping that people would leave me alone (other than my 'friends').  
"You know, Marie Tomlin is dating Nathan P. - one of my good friends. I am also very popular," he looks me up and down "plus I would treat you real nice," his arm slithers to around my waist.  
I tense up and push him away.  
"Yeaaaaah.... No" I say. I increase my speed but unfortunately they have longer legs so when they speed up they can actually go faster than me.  
"Come on babe- you are super hot, come from good genes, and you are smart. I am on the basketball team, got lots of money, and if I do say so myself I am wonderful in-"  
I don't hear the last one due to our team scoring. I feel my eyes watering but don't let Daniel know.  
"Hell no!" I yell over the roar of the crowd.  
"Babe, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity!"  
I give him a disgusted look.  
"Once in a lifetime meaning that it's going to be a one night stand type deal? Hell no, now leave me alone!"  
I run at this point over to the concessions stand. Of course, the pack follows me and I'm in a line for the food.  
"Why don't you give me a chance? One chance to show you that I can rock your world!"  
I glare at him seriously pissed off. Suddenly, they all get scared and start backing off.  
"O-o-o-o-o-okay," Daniel stutters "never mind then..." with that, he runs off.  
Hm, weird.  
Since Pat didn't specify WHAT food to get, I pick stuff that I know he likes. Martin can't exactly tell me what he likes and mom isn’t usually home for meals. I buy some good looking cookies, a muffin, and juice boxes.  
When I get back, Patrick has a weird look on his face as he regards my presence.  
"You are in trouble," he sternly greets me.  
"What did I do?!" I exclaim having no clue what he is talking about. I pass him a juice box and cookie, Martin grabs the muffin and a juice box, while my mother doesn't pay any attention; she is too focused on Ugene. Patrick gets down from the bleachers, grabs my upper arm in a surprisingly firm grip as he tows me over near the porta-potties.  
"If you don't control your anger, your powers can get out of hand!" he whispers harshly. "Do you know what you did to those poor boys?"  
I shake my head 'no'.  
"Dionysus is the god of madness- you got mad and now the guys have gone mad! Daniel believes that his dead grandmother is haunting him,"  
"So? A lot of people believe that people are haunting them." I point out.  
"Diana, he lives with his grandparents, both of them. His parents left him on their doorstep when he was little! You have the power to make people go insane!"  
I look at him with a doubting expression. Suddenly, the porta-potty bursts open. Daniel comes stumbling out.  
"NANNY MAGS!" he yells. He looks as if he has run through a tornado. He looks at me with such intensity, I feel bad for him.  
"Patrick, how do I reverse it?!" I ask, my voice cracking, my heart starting to speed up.  
He looks at me incredulous.  
"I was hoping you knew!" he says, flabbergasted. He sighs while massaging the bridge of his nose.  
"Well, you have 7 people to get back to sanity." he snaps his fingers. A black smoke swirls around Daniel and I. When it clears, his friends, he and I are in the basement. I notice a bunch of spell books are on my bookshelf.  
"I'M SORRY I KNOCKED YOU UP QUINCY! DON’T TELL BUZZ!" one of them yells. This causes me to stop examining the books.  
"You what?!" I exclaim. The guy curls into the fetal position, starts crying, and the whole sight makes me want to punch something. Seriously? Why did this power have to come NOW?!  
I pull out one of the books from the bookshelf called 'the witch in you'. I sit on my bed and read the sections I hope to help. When nothing works I go to a new book.  
After an hour of no results, multiple half hearted attempts, and a ten minute hot chocolate break for everyone, I slump on my bed in defeat.  
"Urrrrrrrgh!!!!" I groan. There is one thing I haven't tried, and I feel stupid for not thinking of this before.  
Dad, I pray, please, tell me how to control this new power...

Sandra’s POV  
The meeting room is packed by the time I get there. Kacey is, as per usual, standing at the end of the table with Mitchell and her dad. Aelix, Ammon, Ajax, Cole, Eva, Josie, and Dionysus are all here. I take my seat at the Apollo head chair.  
"this meeting is to inform people about possession and what will be happening in the next little while," Kacey sets down her clipboard "Recently the one and only daughter of Dionysus has been captured by a league that wants to take over the world. This league used to consist of over 400 people- demigod, mortal, and creature alike- that were forced to join. They would attack anyone who got in their way and possess them. A few of our own were in that league. Ajax Victor," Ajax stands up. Other people would think he looks over tired but I know that look- he is troubled by something. “Was one of those people and is here to tell you how it feels so that you know the symptoms and can possibly report it."  
Ajax shifts uncomfortably.  
"When Ryan attacked me, he stabbed me with a knife and then inserted a syringe into the gap," he lifts up his shirt (revealing his eight pack) to wear a light circle is, “In the syringe was this potion that spreads through your blood system quickly. It feels as if someone were to spill liquid mercury into your system. Once it reaches your brain, you are screwed because then they can control you completely," Ajax then goes onto explaining what it was like being controlled, which brings him to tears a bit; especially when he starts talking about how he abused me (though I have told him that it's ok, he was possessed, about a thousand times he keeps apologizing)  
I see that the jot notes he took from me are dripping from sweat. My boyfriend sits down in his seat, his eyes contacting mine. I give him a warm, encouraging smile.  
"Any questions for Mr. Victor?" Kacey asks the group.  
"So how are you not being possessed right now?" Brittany asks. Ajax looks to me with pleading eyes. I stand up.  
"After Dae stabbed the last circle, her curse was broken; she was the anchor of all the people being possessed. As soon as they lost that anchor, the army was free," I explain.  
"how would you know if someone else is being possessed?" the head of the Demeter cabin asks.  
"I actually don't know..." Ajax admits.  
"You know how they say that you eyes are the windows to the soul?" I interject "well, Ajax's eyes turn blood red when he was being possessed."  
Mr. D has been circling the group, now on his tenth can of diet pepsi.  
"Okay Sarah, Mr. Viper, can you tell me where my daughter is?!" he takes his pepsi can, crushes it, and tosses it to a waiting Satyr.  
"No they can't," Kacey says in annoyance "I have already told you that we are getting a tracking spell."  
Ajax suddenly drops to the floor. He grunts; a sign that he is in pain but doesn't want anyone to know.  
"Ajax?! What's wrong?" I ask, kneeling down next to him with a hand reaching for my first aid kit.  
"Graaaaah!!!" he screams. Ajax lashes out, thankfully not hitting anything. A few people crouch down. Aelix touches Ajax's temple.  
"Ajax? Talk to me!" I order.  
Then his whole body relaxes. Ajax starts breathing deeply.  
"Pearson School," he mutters.  
"What was that?" I ask as calmly as I can. Ajax sits up on his elbows, his eyes meeting mine.  
"The school Dae is going to; Pearson high. Right now there is a football game going on."  
"How do you know?" Joselyn asks. Kacey trots over to where Ajax, Aelix and I are kneeling down.  
"I just saw a glimpse of Ugene scoring a touchdown." he says. A lot of people gasp.  
"Ugene plays football?" Joselyn questions.  
"Seriously? THAT is what you retain from what Ajax just told us?!" I exclaim.  
Aelix gets his phone out. He types so fast that it shouldn't be humanly possible.  
"There are 5 schools in America called Pearson School" he informs us. "They are in Orlando Florida, Honolulu Hawaii, Jasksonville Mississippi, Denver Colorado, and Houston Texas," he reads off his phone.  
"Once the tracking spell is done, we can pinpoint which school it is and then go get her," Kacey declares.  
"Meeting adjourned."

Our group of friends plus Mr. D are the last ones out. Evaline, Joselyn, and I are looking at Mr. D with some sympathy. He chucks his 15th can of pepsi at a willing satyr.  
"I hate pepsi..." he mutters.  
Dionysus collapses on the group in a heap of godly emotions. We all rush over, my hand flying for my first aid kit.  
"Are you ok Mr. D?!" Evaline asks with a mixture of concern and empathy.  
"Do I look ok? How would you feel if your only daughter killed herself, then when you finally get her back, have her taken away from you; not knowing if she is safe, alive, or just on the brink of life?!" Dionysus ends up curled into a ball crying. "I want my baby girl back..." he cries.  
I feel bad for the guy... His head pops up. He hastily stands up, looking towards the sky. I follow his line of direction.  
"Diana?!" he calls.  
"Umm, Mr. D? Diana's not up there..." Joselyn says.  
He grasps Josie and Eva's hand. Joselyn instinctively grabs mine.  
I hear Dae's voice, as if she is praying:  
Dad please, tell me how to control this new power I have. I made seven guys who were flirting with me go seriously mental! One keeps crying for his dead grandmother, but he lives with both of his grandparents. Can you send me a sign, or a way to reverse it? Patrick tells me that I have it in me... I don't really believe him. I have tried almost everything I can think of to try to reverse it.  
"What is she talking about?" Josie asks.  
We all let go of each other’s hands, look at each other with blank expressions.  
"She has been gifted with the power to cause someone to go insane/ bestow a mental illness. This is bad, very very bad..." Mr. D mutters. He flashes out on us.  
"MR. D?!" we call but he doesn't answer or come back.  
"What does he mean that it is very very bad?" I question.  
"I think he meant that we are going into deep shit," Joselyn bluntly says.

Dae’s POV  
Suddenly, the books start levitating in the air. They spin around me in weird patterns and I can feel the power radiating off of them. The one labelled 'the witch in you' moves to rest on my lap, opened to a different page. It is on how to control newly found powers.  
I don't remember seeing this... I think to myself.  
I know what I have to do.  
The first thing I have to do is something I'm not too fond of; I have to reverse my initial reaction towards Daniel.  
"MAGS!!!!!!! GRANDMA DON'T HURT ME!" he cries as I approach him.  
"I'm not going to hurt you," I soothingly say, hiding my disgust. He is currently in the fetal position on the ground. The other guys look at me weird. I push Daniel onto the ground gently and although he resists at first, I eventually get the boy to a relaxed lying down position on the ground. I place a light kiss onto his lips. Daniel's lips taste like liquor and bubble gum; a revolting taste that I wouldn't wish upon anyone. Daniel's eyes focus on me. A smug smile slithers onto his mouth; he looks me up and down, then blinks in confusion.  
"What happened?" he asks.  
"After you guys walked away, you got hit with the football and a bunch of football players tackled you. Ugene brought you home and I brought you down into my room. You stopped breathing so I did CPR," I tell him, hoping the lie worked. I then remember the other guys.  
"Your friends came here to see if you are ok." I turn to them and with as much will power I can muster, I say:  
"Right boys?"  
They all nod their heads reluctantly almost as if they are in a trance.  
"Well, I'm glad I finally got what I wanted," Daniel smirks.  
"Boys. Out!" He barks at his group of friends. They leave in the blink of an eye. Daniel turns to me.  
"Now, where were we?" he tries to sound seductive but it is so bad it hurts. He rolls on top of me. I am so shocked that I can't move.  
"And now, you are mine!" he pins my arms above my head. I squirm-finally realizing what could happen- but due to the dramatic difference in body weight between us, I can't escape. I try yelling but this only causes him to lip lock with me.  
"Mmmmmm!" I scream from my current position.  
Daniel pulls his head away.  
"Yes, scream. I love hearing you scream!" he says before returning to my mouth. I find myself shaking from fear, my cheeks getting moist, and through it all I just feel numb.  
"HEY!" I hear someone yell, clearly pissed off. Daniel snaps his head up, his body going rigid.  
"That's my sister, you asshole!" Ugene yells. Daniel quickly gets off of me. I run to Ugene, tears streaming down my face, and give him a hug. Ugene looks surprised at this motion but hugs me back. He puts a hand protectively over my head, pushing it into his chest.  
"You get out of my house, and if I were you, I would switch schools," he threats. Daniel couldn't have run away any faster than he does. For the first time, I let Ugene comfort me. I pretty much collapsed into his arms when I ran to him. I notice that he is still wearing his uniform, he smells like fake turf, axe and cigarettes. He picks me up into his arms, I curl into him and he brings me over to my bed. He places me delicately under the covers before taking off his football gear all while proceed to cry into my pillow. When Ugene comes into my bed, wearing a plain shirt and pants, he gets me to cuddle up to him. He strokes my head and holds me in such a brotherly matter, it surprises me.  
"Thank you for, um, coming when you did," I say once the worst of the crying is over. Ugene pulls me in closer.  
"I love you," he says. It sounds as if he is saying it in a brotherly matter.  
"I love you when you aren't trying to hurt me," I whisper. Ugene gives me a peck on the cheek.  
"I wish I could tell you why I act like I do," he whispers. Soon he and I are crying into each other's shoulders.  
"If only you knew..." he mumbles.


	6. Falling Deeply

Chapter 6- Falling Deeply

Eva’s POV  
Everything started off fine.  
All of the demigods who were meant to come with us were packed up and ready to go within the hour. We all ate, said our goodbyes, and efficiently loaded into the buses and vans we were taking to travel to the barn. Every single car reported to ours that they did not have any stow-aways. After Diana’s little stow-away adventure, we made it part of the vehicle check to search for them. Aelix is the first driver, the lead van, to depart from Camp Halfblood. Since the ride is approximately two hours long, most of our friend group decides to sleep. I sit in the front with Aelix, as I am the only one who wishes to stay awake. We sit in silence for most of the trip; Aelix seems to be void of all emotions, except his eyes reveal the anxiousness he is trying to hide. I offer to listen if he wants to talk about anything. He declines the first offer, however caves about an hour into the journey.  
While on a highway, he admits that he is insanely worried for his girlfriend. He has witnessed the nightmares and could feel how scared of him Diana was in those nightmares. He wonders if we will make it in time, how much Ares has damaged Diana’s mental health, and about her physical health. I assure him that I have the same worries, but that I believe she is strong and we can help her heal. I point out that every single person in this van is going to be one hundred percent into trying to help Diana heal and that we will not give up.  
We stop for gas soon after Aelix and I fall back into our comfortable silence. Aelix is able to survive paying for the gas; no monsters attack, and Aelix manages to accommodate to his dyslexia. The guy at the counter gives him an empathetic smile when Aelix asks for him to help with counting out the bills and change. Aelix leaves five dollars in the tip jar. When he returns to the car, I let him know that he is doing good. He exhales quickly through his nose and starts the van up again without another word. The other vans started radioing to remind everyone that we will be parking along different roads surrounding the property, and come at them from every angle. Cole and Ammon had already planned and debriefed us on where to park before we left. Our van is to park at the bottom of the driveway and attack the front yard. Luckily, Ares chose a remote abandoned barn in an open space. This gives us both an advantage and a disadvantage; we will be able to see the enemy however the enemy will also be able to see us coming. Since we know that Diana is in the barn, and not the house, we will be focusing our forces on the barn. The rules are that we must get Diana out of there, try to kill the least amount of people as possible, and save Martin. Aelix was the one to remind us that not only Martin, but all of Diana’s brothers are to be saved if possible. They can help her heal from the tortures and possible post-traumatic stress disorder she will be experiencing.  
My phone buzzing brings me out of my thoughts and alerts of an incoming text from Percy. It reads:  
Hey lil sis! Remember that I love you and we will be coming from the other side, so we will help you out in the barn the best we can. Stay strong, fight good.  
I smile at my phone. Since we will not be arriving at the barn for another hour, I put my head against the window. My thoughts wander around, thankfully not staying on the thought of Diana being dead, or worse. I think instead about different activities we can do to help her get back to a healthy state of mind, and how we will commence training with her. She is probably going to be weak and starving. She will need a lot of support from her friends and family. Martin will definitely be on board with helping out. I wonder what the real Ugene is like… Hopefully he is a kind demigod, not at all like the Jeff-Ugene. Diana will also have to get cleared by Mitchell and whoever is in charge of the infirmary before she can even join us in training.  
“Eva?” Aelix says, pulling me to the present. I look at him. “We’re here.”  
Aelix and I wake up all of our troops. We have to wait until we receive the signal that everyone is in position. I look out the window, since I am on the side facing the property.  
The barn looks like a normal abandoned barn. It is a deep red color, however it obviously used to be darker telling by the streaks in the peeling paint. The peeling paint is noticeable from the distance we are and there is a rusted rooster on top. The barn and its adjacent house are located on the top of the hill surrounded by a field of, what used to be, strawberries, watermelon, and various other fruits and vegetables. The fields have reminisce of the plants; withered, crumbly, dry reminisce. It shouldn’t be a challenge getting to the barn. There is a house nearby; it is in a similar state to the barn. Aelix and I know she is in the barn, however we believe her brothers Martin, Ugene, the rest of them, and her mother are being kept in there. The house itself looks like it once was home to a cute little farming family. It gives off a family feeling, drastically different from the feeling Ares gives us.  
“Look, there are sentries,” Ajax points out.  
“Hey Ajax?” Cole says. Ajax replies to his name.  
“You have super speed as a son of Nike, right?” Cole asks. We all look at him, remembering that we ARE demigods who do indeed have powers. Sometimes we forget that we have powers. Aelix radio’s to the other cars that we are thinking up a new plan of attack.  
“I could conjure some skeletons with my brother?” Joselyn offers.  
“I could channel my healing energy to keep her going?” Sandra inputs.  
“Yes… Very good,” Aelix says. “Ajax, I don’t know how your speed could come in handy… It definitely will, I just don’t know how yet…”  
“Ammon, you want to turn invisible?” Cole says.  
Ammon nods. Cole perks up, wiggling with excitement. Aelix gestures to him; Cole gets a mischievous look about him.  
“Can I burn the barn down? After we rescue Grapegirl, of course,” he asks. Aelix chuckles at him but gives him permission.  
Aelix could probably impose people’s fears onto them, rendering them incapable of fighting, I think. Marie could charmspeak her way in, or she could charmspeak Diana if needed. Especially if Diana is not one hundred percent herself. Justin could help with fighting, and with escaping if needed. Ginnifer is going to help by fighting with her magic. Cole and I could mostly be used for fighting aspect. Kacey shall fight as well. I voice all of this and everyone agrees. We decide Ajax is to go check out the house, since it will not be as guarded. Aelix radio’s what different house roles should be to the other cars.   
The fighting is when things fell to Hades.  
We send out the signal to start our attack. Everyone unsheathes their weapons, readies them, and we all pile out of the van. The sentries Ajax previously pointed out spot us right away. They swarm out of the barn and house, and we begin to realize that we underestimated the amount of demigods stolen and mind-controlled. Ares’ army outnumbers us three-to-one. Sandra and Joselyn, along with two Apollo kids who join us, head to the back of our group. The two Apollo kids are to help power Joselyn up so she can hold on to the skeleton army for as long as possible. Ginnifer casts the first spell; it isn’t powerful enough to knock out the army, or really do much damage. Green smoke starts curling up people’s bodies and they fall unconscious. Ares’ army attacks. Two people come at me. One shouts at me in a language I don’t know. As the two are fighting with me, both using swords, a green mist swoops over them. They do not lose consciousness, but their speech is translated. I realize they are both speaking the same language, and are telling each other what to do. By paying attention to this, I am able to disarm one of them, knocking the same person out. The other attacks after seeing her friend taken down. She swings at me with her sword, I block it. She pushes against my sword and I push back as to not get decapitated.  
“How did you do that?” she mutters.  
“What language are you speaking?” I ask, hoping that Ginnifer’s language magic is a two-way deal. Thankfully, it is. She replies that she is speaking French. I am able to push her away; she falls down, rolls on her back, over her shoulder, and to a standing position. She appears to be a bit dizzy, so I take this chance to try to disarm her. She recovers quickly upon my attack, unfortunately able to prevent me from disarming her. We spar, trying to jab at each other. Her attacks get increasingly aggressive. I try to match her energy. She gets in a few good blows; I get in a few. After a while of going back and forth like this, each of us not actually hurting one another, I am able to disarm her. I point my sword at her throat whilst straddling her.  
“Are you from New Jersey?” I ask breathlessly.  
“No… I am French. From France. May our great Lord Ares win,” she spits at me. It is now I realize two things: The reason the army is large is because the demigods are not only from America, but are from all over the world, and they are all mind controlled. Meaning they are only attacking because Ares wants them to. They may be inside of their own bodies, fighting for a way out. I begin to wonder how they all got caught up in this huge mess. My mind goes back to when Aelix and I were in the barn, specifically to the people floating in the tanks with the weird red tinted substance. Were they Americans? Or were they from all around the world too? Do they change?  
My thoughts are interrupted by another person attacking me. This person has Camp Jupiter clothing on. He attacks with two normal daggers. Upon his approach, he launches one of them at me. I dodge it successfully, feeling the might of the throw as the blade whooshes past my arm. He continues his pursuit. I recover quickly and block his first blow. He tries punching me but I block it. He grabs the wrist that blocked his punch and before I know it, I have been flipped onto the ground, with my attacker on top of me. He holds my sword arm down and has his blade at my throat. His red eyes pierce me.  
“Lord Mars wants you alive… but I can’t help wanting to slit your throat right now…”  
“Get off of her,” a very commanding female voice says. The guy gets off, revealing Marie to be standing behind him. She collides her dagger against his head which causes him to pass out.  
“Thanks,” I breathe.  
“No problem,” she says.  
Marie runs off to fight some more of Ares’ army. I notice that our troupe is trying not to kill anyone; we are knocking out everyone we can. I run closer to the barn, fighting, causing minor injuries that won’t kill them, just slow them down. I manage to get pretty close to the barn before getting into a real fight. Five armor clad mind controlled goons block my way to the door.  
Suddenly a body bumps into me.  
“Hey Eva!” Joselyn cheerily says, slightly winded.  
“Joselyn?!” I say, confused and relieved.  
“Five on two?” Joselyn comments. “Let’s get ‘em”  
Joselyn and I attack simultaneously, falling into step with each other. I fight off two of the demigods. One of them has daggers, the other has a longsword. Luckily, the longsword person tries to cut me in half by the stomach and I dodge it, causing them to actually stab the one with the daggers. I swipe my feet and the longsword falls over. I tackle them to the ground and punch them in the face until they are knocked out. When I look up to check on Joselyn, she has two passed out, and one girl tackled to the ground with her whip wrapped around their body. She taps on the girl’s head with her finger and the girl’s body goes limp. I ask Joselyn what she did; she apparently can force people to sleep, but it takes a lot out of her. This power just came to her today when she was fighting off a warrior.  
“At least if Diana needs any medical shit done, no more needles?” Joselyn comments.  
“Or if we need to knock her out now?” I suggest. Joselyn nods.  
“That too.”  
She gets a horrid look on her face.  
“EVALINE WATCH-”  
I feel a pain erupt in my shoulder. I collapse to ground in pain, grabbing my afflicted shoulder. Lucky for me, Sandra runs up just as Joselyn is examining.  
“Whoever shot this arrow has terrible aim,” Joselyn says. “THANKFULLY they have terrible aim,” she adds. Joselyn helps me stand up, and we head over to the shadow of the barn. Joselyn grabs a hold of me; the world goes dark for a moment before dissolving back together. We are now at the medic station, located in a school bus we brought.  
The school bus looks quite new from the outside, however on the inside we have made a lot of adjustments. We tinted the windows so that we could have some privacy. Most of the seats were taken out while the remaining ones were reshaped into a medical bed-type look. There are about eight of them. We added in a few chairs, and some tables and compartment drawers to hold medical supplies. We have one specifically for ambrosia and nectar. It also holds food that will help keep people going.  
Thomas immediately gives Josie an energy bar and a coffee upon our appearance in the bus. One of the Apollo kids starts working on my shoulder. After the nectar and ambrosia are finished, my shoulder just needs stitches before I can go back and fight. The stitches sting despite the numbing cream the child of Apollo used. Josie holds my hand and helps me via distraction method. She points out that Aelix is currently getting fed an energy bar. As soon as the bandage is placed onto my shoulder, I am cleared to go back into the fight. Joselyn and Sandra follow me out, Aelix joins us, and we shadow-travel to the barn.  
One quarter of the army is knocked out on the ground, while others are just… sitting on the ground?  
I look around to see what has caused this. They seem totally aware of what they are doing. None of the people on the ground are attacking anyone, even when we are right beside them. A few of the Hermes kids are drawing moustaches with permanent marker onto the soldiers yet they still don’t move. I turn to look at Joselyn and Sandra. Sandra points towards one of the frontlines, where there is one of our people standing off with five of the soldiers. I recognize the single person to be Marie. She looks at them nonchalantly, her breath level. One of the soldiers lunges at her; we are close enough to hear Marie’s voice.  
“Can you not?”  
The soldier immediately stops. Marie looks at the others.  
“You four, how about you take a break from fighting and just sit here? You really deserve a break,” Marie says with conviction. I realize she, along with her siblings, are stopping the army simply by charmspeaking them to stop fighting. Marie sees us after her assailants are sitting in a circle minding their own business. She jogs over. She explains that there are enough of our people fighting to overcome the enemy now and we should focus on extracting Diana. She says the boys and Ginnifer are currently trying to find a way into the barn; a window, an unlocked door, whatever they can find. Joselyn asks if anyone have tried the front door. Marie looks at us.  
“That’s our job.”  
As soon as she says this, a blurry figure zips through a big crowd of soldiers, resulting in the group to fall unconscious, and then does a few laps around the barn. Some laps are on the ground, the others are somehow in the air. The figure stops in front of our group. Ammon is being piggybacked by Ajax. That’s right, I think, Ajax is a son of Nike so he has super speed, and Ammon can fly as a son of Hermes. They stand in front of us.  
“No entrances are open, most are guarded with either soldiers or magic of some sort.” Ammon reports. I notice he has gone pale, however that’s not all that is different; his lips are dry, there are dark circles underneath his eyes, beads of sweat are all across his forehead. He breathes heavily. I tell him he needs to rest before he tries to help out any more. Ammon shrugs it off agreeably, and decides to go to the medical team. Sandra can’t heal him because she has to keep Joselyn going. Ajax tells us he recognizes one of the entrances is guarded by Chris and another soldier; it has the least amount of defenses. Chris will help us!  
I tell the group that’s the entrance we should try to go through, since Chris helped us. I don’t trust him one hundred percent, but it’s our best shot.   
“We will ask Chris; I mean, he let Eva and I go see Diana. Maybe he is on the good side? Maybe he knows what’s happ-” Aelix starts but is cut off.  
Joselyn screams, falling to the ground. We all take a step back, other than Sandra who kneels down next to Joselyn.  
“Death… So much death… I can feel it…” Joselyn mutters loud enough for us to hear.  
Sandra sings a quick tune that is apparently calming; Joselyn chills and gets to her feet. Wordlessly, Ajax leads us to where he saw Chris guarding an entrance.  
Chris is guarding a window that a person could fit through, along with a mind-controlled goon. His eyebrows raise when he sees us.  
“Eva?! Aelix?! You found Diana?!” Chris says.  
The goon calls us intruders and pulls out a bow and arrow. Chris snaps his fingers, causing a yellow smoke to swoosh past the goon’s face, and the goon falls asleep. He looks at us warily.  
“What’s up? Why are you not letting us in right away?” Aelix angrily demands.  
Chris’s magic envelopes the barn area below the window and it evaporates so we can walk through it. Chris moves out of the way.  
We enter from the side of the building, between the tanks. I am one of the last ones in. The barn hasn’t changed since Aelix and I were in here except for three things. The tanks being empty is the first thing. The second thing is that the chest has been moved. The third makes me realize something. My heart drops, my brain starting to throb. My throat goes dry. My breath struggles to enter and exit my lungs. The others have a similar reaction.  
“We are too late,” Aelix croaks.

Diana’s POV- Earlier  
I don’t know how long it’s been; I have stopped counting. The voices and people around me keep telling me how shit of a demigod I am. I believe them. They tell me how I couldn’t save Greg. I couldn’t save my brothers. I couldn’t save Eva. I couldn’t save Joselyn. I couldn’t save Sandra, or Marie, or Kacey. I couldn’t save Aelix. I couldn’t save Ammon, or Ajax, or Cole. I couldn’t save them, I couldn’t save them, I couldn’t save them, echos in my head by different voices for hours, possibly days on end. The only break I get is when Chris enters the barn. He delivers me food, solid food that I typically throw up upon consumption, to try to strengthen me up for hosting a god. It doesn’t make sense to me that they would want me to be malnourished and then fed. Chris ends up giving me protein shakes and multivitamins, then at some point toast. This time when he enters, he doesn’t just have food. He brings in a big box, levitating it with magic. I look at him perplexed. He dries the newest tears from my face, his yellow magic warm against my cold and clammy skin. I have gone catatonic, finding that I don’t have the strength or mental capacity to do anything but breathe and eat and listen to the voices yell things; he places the box at my feet. I drink the protein grossness and allow him to feed me the multivitamin. They took out the nutrition IV at some point. As I chew it, he opens up the box, making sure I am comprehending what he is saying and focusing on him.  
“Ares bought you an outfit for when Kronos is…” He struggles to find a word, making a defeated face when settling onto “-inside of you”  
I cringe internally at the thought. Chris looks for an outwardly reaction however I can’t give him one. He comes up close to my face, looking pleasantly surprised when my head and eyes follow him. He chuckles sadly.  
“Diana… I’ve been sworn not to tell you something on the river Styx… But I don’t want you to lose hope. You can fight this.”  
I just look at him; he has tears in his eyes. He opens the box with his magic. A dress floats out of it. It’s a deep purple and royal blue at the same time somehow. It’s a short prom dress-type get up. Above the belt of it is one hundred percent sparkles. From the top of the bust, it’s mesh with a solid fabric vine pattern at the top. I manage to smile a little causing Chris to let his hopeful tears be free. At least I will be going out in style. I furrow my brows at him. I can’t ask him when someone- I am hoping for Nora- will be dressing me. I know that Ares will probably want me in the dress when the battle is drawing near. Chris wipes his tears away. He touches my temple, a warmth spreading from where his finger is making contact with my skin. Suddenly my thoughts are displayed in front of Chris and I. I think to ask him when I am putting the dress on and who will do it. Chris answers that I get a choice for who will be putting the dress on me. I get to choose between people, two of the options being himself and Nora. Chris stops projecting my thoughts; he is shaking from the effort so the spell must be powerful. The dress has dropped back into its box. He goes over to the door of the barn, opens it, and walks back in with a line of mind-controlled demigods. Mostly female, mostly people I do not recognize. Nora is there. Chris requests me to roll my eyes and then blink. I do so; he looks relieved, telling me to blink three times if I do not want the demigod presented to help me get dressed right now, and to roll my eyes if I want their help. He asks me to roll my eyes if this will work for me and I roll my eyes. One by one, each person is presented to me. I choose Nora and a random daughter of Apollo. Chris boots out the other demigods and leaves himself.  
Nora undoes the restraints, keeping on the wristband that prevents me from using my magic or powers. The other daughter of Apollo, Amber, picks my limp body up. I am too weak to really fight her, however I have regained some of my strength. Amber helps me stand up while Nora takes off my shorts and tank top. Tears swell in my eyes as I feel vulnerable and exposed. Nora sadly looks at me.  
“I hate doing this. But I can’t control my actions, just my words. Diana, I am so so sorry that you have to go through this.”  
I look at her. Amber agrees with Nora. They manage to get the dress on without any struggle from me. Nora carries me over to the restraint system as Amber goes over to the box, which lays just outside the ring of my brother’s heads. As she carries me I notice something peculiar; Martin and Ugene’s heads are not there. This probably means they are still alive. If they are alive, I imagine they are either being tortured or mind controlled.  
Amber pulls out of the dress box a tinier box, this one made from cardboard as well. Nora opens it using a scalpel she brings to it from my table of torturing devices. Nora didn’t bother putting the restraints back on. She comes back over while Amber sets something up. Nora checks my heart and lungs, feels my legs and arms, and then looks in my mouth, ears, and nose. I admit, I felt weird during this part, despite it being like a normal human check up. Maybe what makes me feel weird is how, in this absurd torturous nightmare, they care about my health. The very thing they are deteriorating; they must not want it to go too far. I know that Chris has magically brushed my teeth, and has used magic to take off grime from my skin as a way to keep my hygiene in tact.  
Amber produces makeup. Nora runs out of the barn and returns with a mind controlled son of Aphrodite. I internally cringe. The guy takes the box of makeup away from Amber before approaching me. Nora and Amber do up the restraints.  
The son of Aphrodite asks them what I am capable of right now in the state that I am in. They inform him I can blink and roll my eyes, however I will not speak to anyone. Amber leaves after. Nora stays in case anything changes or happens to me.  
I close my eyes and power through the makeup. It’s not that I don’t like makeup. It’s the fact in order to host a god/titan I have to get dolled up, as well as the part where I have no say in what is happening. I feel the makeup being put on, but I don’t react to it.  
“Can she hear us?” The son of Aphrodite asks Nora. Nora sighs.  
“Sometimes I don’t know. I hope that she can. I know we are being forced to do things but she needs to know that we are trying our best to fight it. Well, those of us in the Strong Willed category.” Nora says.  
“Strong Willed category?” the guy questions.  
“Yeah. Those with enough will to say whatever we want, but our actions are controlled. We are too good of a person to be controlled one hundred percent. Like Chris. Then there are those who are Loyal Troops. That’s what Edith was. They don’t need mind control to be loyal to Ares, if you didn’t get that from the name. And then there are those who are Total Controlled. They have enough of a badness level that they are controlled, and a weak enough allegiance to Ares that he needs to be in total control.” Nora explains.  
“That makes sense. If Ares wanted this chick-”  
“Diana,” Nora interrupts, “Her name is Diana.”  
“Sorry; if Ares wanted Diana to host Kronos, why not mind control her?” he questions.  
“Because she needs to consent to the hosting.”  
There is silence as the son of Aphrodite finishes. I open my eyes; he is looking down at me with sadness, which turns into surprise and then relief. I probably startled him. He says that he thought I was asleep. Nora exits the barn after inspecting the work done to my face. The son of Aphrodite gets me to sit up. He asks if I could put in any more effort, then curses when he remembers I am unresponsive. He sits behind me.  
“I’d hate to do this, especially since you already don’t have much control but…” his voice changes.  
“Sit up,” he charmspeaks. I find myself obeying. He starts doing my hair. He tells me about how pretty my hair is- I roll my eyes even though he can’t see them- and that he is surprised how healthy it is with the living conditions I have had to go through.  
A few minutes go by. The son of Aphrodite, who I learn to be named Greyson, finishes my hair just in time for Nora to return with Ares. I begin to tremble a little at his presence, eliciting a shocked expression from Nora. Greyson charmspeaks me to not tremble. Ares enters the circle. He examines me in silence. Nora reads him her medical report. Ares looks satisfied.  
“Bring in Dionysus. If she is to host Kronos this afternoon, she needs more ichor. The mind controlled warriors have been prepared if Camp Halfblood has somehow found the location of this place.”  
My father is here? I think.  
Ares looks over me again.  
“Greyson, excellent work. I believe Kronos will be pleased.” Ares compliments.  
“Thanks, Lord Ares,” Greyson says. He exits. Greyson passes by Amber and Chris bringing in someone on a gurney. When they get closer I see that it is my father. For some reason, seeing him like this puts a rage in my stomach. I watch in horror as Dionysus looks upon me, then then to his sons’ heads on spears around me. He screams loudly at Ares.  
“YOU DICK!” He yells and then sobs. They put the gurney parallel to the restraint system. I turn my head to look at my father. I try to reach my hand out to him, surprised when my hand moves. Ares and Nora are surprised as well. Chris approaches me and gently pushes me to a laying position. He tells me I look beautiful, and that Aelix was lucky to have me. Nora sets up a transfusion system, hooking my father up to it first. Dionysus sobs and screams in pain, sorrow, and loss. Chris holds my hand; I feel magic seeping into my skin. He whispers to me that I shouldn’t feel a thing. I can’t feel my arm. Chris turns my head away from where Nora is hooking up the blood transfusion line. She comes to the other side of me to hook up where my normal blood will be filtered out. Apparently they are mixing my blood with ichor and then putting it back in. It freaks me out. Ares notices the change in me. Tears burn in my eyes.  
“Chris?” I whimper, finding my voice. It’s hoarse from not being used, yet still audible. Chris looks me in the eyes, tears in his eyes too.  
“Yes Diana?”  
I let the tears fall. I even manage to sit up, something I haven’t done by myself in a while. I look at him, then at Ares, then Nora, then back at Chris.  
“Please put me to sleep,” I weakly request. The son of Hecate looks pleadingly at Ares.  
“I grant you permission” Ares says. “ As a child this process was rough for her. I think we can let her have this one tiny break.” He says. Nora and Chris look at him, surprised.  
“Wait, by use of magic or a sedative?” Nora asks. Ares contemplates it.  
“I would prefer sedative, actually. The drinkable kind.” Ares requests. “Chris, I will allow you to go, er, comfort her.”  
Chris and Nora look at Ares, shocked.  
“As in, you can hold her so she doesn’t squirm, using your magic to make sure she behaves,” Ares corrects. Chris nods. He climbs up onto the restraint table. He asks if I will drink it willingly, and I nod. Nora stirs the solution. She hands it to Chris, who puts it to my lips.  
“Sweet dreams,” he whispers. I open my mouth to drink it; it tastes vile. I swallow it despite the want to spit it in Ares’ face. Chris rocks me as I lose consciousness. The last thing I see and feel is Chris holding out my arm, the line going in, and Chris’s face sadly smiling down at me. His red eyes shining.

I’m in woods. I don’t know where or why, but I’m in woods. They stretch out far and wide, too dark for me to see past a couple meters. I sit on a fallen tree. There’s noises coming from the dark areas. I sharply turn towards every noise, trying to figure out the source.  
“Hello? Who’s there?” I call.  
“Diana,” a voice says from behind me. I turn to find that I am facing Greg. He has a wicked smile on his face. His skin is pale, there is a huge line on his neck that looks rough and bruised, and two puncture wounds the size of a staple in his chest. His expression turns sour.  
“My sacrifice wasn’t worth it,” he spits at me. “Look at you; begging for death.”  
“I-” I whimper.  
“Diana…” Aelix says. I whip around.  “Funny that you literally have the word DIE in your name!” He laughs.  
“You killed us! You are the reason we are dead!” Eva, Sandra, Joselyn, Kacey, and Ginnifer scream in unison. I fall down to the ground, tears coming out of my eyes.  
“I know… I am so sorry…”  
“If we knew you would be this much trouble, we would have let you drown,” Joselyn venomously says.  
“Thrown you back in the ocean, unconscious,” Eva says.  
They dissolve into the woods. My aunt appears.  
“I died because of you. After I fed you, gave you a roof over your head! I only let Aaron do those procedures on you because that was the terms for me keeping you! You, who got kicked out of schools for weird shit happening!”  
“I’m sorry mom,” I sob “It wasn’t my fault…”  
“Yes it was!” She runs over, tackles me to the ground. Suddenly it’s not my mother, it’s Aelix again. He holds me down, too strong for me to fight him off.  
“You Diana… You are too messed up to love. I only loved you because I thought I could fix you. The way to do that is your death.”  
I shake my head.  
“No Aelix, you don’t mean that” I whimper. “You are only saying that to make me feel like I want to die, which I already do. Without you and all of my friends supporting me, helping me through all the tough shit, making me feel loved, I would have no meaning to life. You are just a vision in my head. The real Aelix would tell me that it’s not my fault. He would reassure me. My friends would help my crazy mind go to common sense.” I say to him.  
“But we are all DEAD!” Aelix yells. “And soon-”  
A dagger- no THE dagger- appears in his hand. He uses one hand to hold my wrists above my head and he raises the other hand. With one fluid motion, he swings it down, slitting my throat.

“Diana? Diana, wake up!” Chris says, his voice sounding far away.  
“Maybe we should give her a shot of epinephrine?” Nora suggests, hers sounding really really close.  
“Wake her the Hades up, I don’t care the method. We have to start the ceremony NOW, there are vans parked outside!” Ares says.  
I feel a stabbing pain in my thigh; my heart rate accelerates, and I bolt to a sitting position. I hyperventilate. Chris and Nora immediately come to my side.  
“Well, look who is awake!” My brother’s all scream. I look at them.  
“No, you all go away when Chris is here…”  
“We are back bitch!” They all yell.  
“LET ME IN!” I hear that voice that’s been yelling in my mind on and off.  
“Diana, if you hear-” Ares starts to say.  
“LET ME IN!”  
“-a voice in your head saying-”  
“LET ME IN!”  
“-to let him in-”  
“LET ME IN!”  
“-then all you gotta do is say-”  
“LET ME IN! LET ME IN! LET ME IN!”  
“-’I accept and let him in’, when I tell you”  
All of the voices that have been in my head yell different things at me. Insults mostly, some tell me to let him in. Ares drags the chest so it is under where my head goes on the restraint system. Chris and Nora exit the circle, going to other places in the barn. I notice that Dionysus is no longer beside me, and the tanks in here are empty. The transfusion lines are gone.  
Ares roughly pushes me down to a laying position. He puts his hands on my shoulders, pressing down lightly as if to keep me in this position.  
“Oh mighty Titan. May you accept this fleshy offering of Diana Agatha Summers, daughter of Dionysus, filled with the ichor of the god Dionysus. We tried once before to offer this flesh, however she is now ready to be hosted, her soul to be ripped out of her body. I, Ares, God of War, offer her to you in exchange to rule with you over the mortals when we rise up. The flesh will now offer herself,”  
Ares looks down at me. I take it that this is the cue.  
“I… I… I…”  
“Come on, say it!” Ares whispers through clenched teeth.  
“I… I...I…”  
Ares digs his fingernails into my shoulders.  
“I….”  
“Yell it,” he whispers.  
“I ACCEPT AND LET HIM IN”  
A bright yellow light explodes from under my head, blinding me. A loud noise emits from the chest. Right before everything goes black, I hear from somewhere in the barn, barely audible, a male voice.  
“We are too late”


	7. Something Fishy

Eva’s POV

"It's been a week Ammon. Why can't we send her the device?!" I ask, tapping my fingers nervously on the edge of his bunk. All week Josie, Sandra, and now Aelix have been training from mealtime to mealtime. Some days we look up different skills or monsters we might face. The only day we haven't done any of that is today; they weren't at the training room when I was there, or in their cabins, or in the forest. We have been relieved of going to/teaching classes which is great for us, not so great for our students. Kacey says that since there are less people during the year, order/schedules don't matter. Due to our extra hard training, the four of us have gotten pretty buffed up. I can now see a four pack forming on my stomach. Aelix's six pack is really defined and he has a scruffy-bad boy look to him. Josie and Sandra both are forming four packs. When I'm not training or eating, I have been with Ammon  
"Ginnifer said it would take two weeks after she has all of the ingredients. Ajax is out getting drakon snot, Sandra is getting some sorts of herbs, and Joselyn is getting the hellhound nail clipping. Cole and Aelix are out trying to find a hairdresser! Everyone is pitching in but us right now," He explains though not frustrated. More like he can't believe what he says.  
I sigh in frustration.  
"Is that why you called me here, because we aren't doing anything? And why did Cole and Aelix go to a hairdresser?" I ask.  
Ammon grabs his sword before looking me in the eyes. He chuckles.  
"To answer your second question, they are getting leftover hair from a monster hair dresser. Just cause they're monsters doesn't mean they can't look fabulous," his chuckle is so contagious I can't help but share it.  
"And the first?"  
Ammon grabs my wrist and teleports me out of his cabin into mine.  
"Grab your sword; we are going under water."

Apparently fish don't like Ammon. Once under water in the Atlantic Ocean, I made some air bubbles for us. Fish have been sucking on Ammon's fingers and toes, one even tried to get at his nose. He is lucky that I am a daughter of Poseidon; otherwise he probably would have gotten his skin ripped from his body. Each time a fish sucks at his skin, I order as kindly as I can to get off of him. When we get back to camp, Ammon is probably going to have to go see Sandra for any shots. Is there a tetanus shot for fish bites?  
"So what exactly are we getting?" I ask Ammon, trying not to laugh at his pouty face and the red marks all over him.  
"There is a cave where an ancient fish lives, named Randy. We are to retrieve a scale from him," Ammon tells me.  
"He has a name?" I question.  
"Yeah. He used to be a demigod from camp. Surely you remember my brother Reilly? Well he offended your dad so Poseidon turned him into the most laughed at fish of the ocean; a goldfish."  
I look at him weirdly after warding off a herd of jellyfish.  
"Goldfish are laughed at because they are the most loved fish of the mortal world- they get turned into pets," Ammon explains.  
"If his name was Reilly why did he change his name to Randy?" I ask.  
"To protect his reputation with the future generations," Ammon's hand goes to his sword. He looks ahead of us. Following his gaze I see a school of fish.  
"I'll go talk to them," I chuckle as I swim ahead.

The cave is located in a deeper part of the ocean, a part with almost no light. I have to help Ammon swim down due to how deep we are. I make it easy for him by controlling the current. The cave, at first glance, looks like one of those fish houses mortals would see in a fish tank; the outside is purple with pearls lining the entrance. The only difference is that this one is a lot bigger and a lot scarier. I slip my hand into Ammon's calloused one and give us a big push.  
"Randy? We know you are in here!" Ammon calls. "Come out come out wherever you are. You don't have to hide; it's your brother Ammon," my boyfriend calls.  
That when I see it; a little hole that could fit a single person. I point to it.  
"Maybe he is in another room?" I suggest.  
"Ladies first," Ammon suggests to the tube. I do an underwater curtsy before swimming up to the tube. As soon as I get my torso into it, it is as if the tube is a straw. I go shooting through it at 140 mph and land.... On solid ground. My air bubble pops.  
THUNK  
There's Ammon. We groan.  
"Where did the air bubble go?" he asks. Ammon rolls pitifully off of me.  
"There's air here," I sit up, ungodly sounds coming from my mouth that I can help. As soon as I get into an upright position a burning sensation erupts from my ribs, I cry out in pain and collapse to the ground. I feel hands on my ribs, but am in so much pain that I keep them shut.  
"Nice going bro, you managed to break your lover's ribs," I hear a male voice say. My eyes shoot open to find a guy smirking at me. I back away in horror, but I bump into Ammon. I cry out in pain again.  
"Evaline relax," Ammon only uses my full name when it is serious "you can trust Randy/Reilly."  
Somehow the smirk on blondie's face, the crouching stance and his general aura don't make me any more calm.  
"Randy, do you have any ambrosia or Nectar?" Ammon asks.  
"I thought you were a fish?!" I exclaim, immediately regretting it. But Randy/Reilly only chuckles as he walks off somewhere behind me.  
"That's only when I get in contact with water. Sort of like a mermaid." he answers. I hear his footsteps come closer and something gets shoved into my mouth. It tastes like Aero bar...  
I feel myself get picked up by Ammon- a gesture he has NEVER done.  
"Reilly, do you mind turning into Randy so we can get a scale?" Ammon asks. The pain in my torso dulls to a slight throb. It's enough for me to stand up. The cave is pretty sweet, for an underwater cave. We are on an island that consists of a wall-less apartment. The apartment is surrounded by water and there are ladders going to different tubes.  
Reilly sighs.  
"Wait, why can't you just turn into a goldfish, escape, and then go back to regular you once on the beach of Camp Halfblood?" I ask.  
"Because I wouldn't be able to get out of the water. Rolling around as a huge goldfish doesn't work," then under his breath he says "it just makes you look like an idiot..."  
He shakes the thought away.  
"Anyway, for you brother, I will."  
Ammon and I both look at him in relief.  
"Thank you!" we say in grateful unison.  
Reilly goes up to the water, hesitates a bit but jumps in. A golden light surrounds his body, his skin absorbs it like a sponge, and soon he is a human sized goldfish. I try not to chuckle at the spike of blonde hair his fish form has. Ammon jumps in afterward and retrieves a shell.  
"So, I guess this is goodbye. Come again brother," Reilly says once back in human form.  
They hug it out.  
"Thanks for coming to visit me," Reilly says emotionlessly.  
If he can't get back by swimming...  
"Hey! I have an idea as to how you can come back to camp!" I exclaim. The Hermes brothers look at me.  
"Since Ammon can teleport, how about he just teleports you to Camp?" I offer.  
"Eva, you do realize that I can only teleport two people and I pass out afterwards. You saw what transporting 5 demigods from the fortress did-and I was going off of adrenaline then!"  
"Well, you would only have to transport yourself and Reilly. I can swim back," I say confidently smiling at the brothers. Ammon looks weary but doesn't say anything. A sparkly grey mist swirls up their bodies.  
"Ammon, why do you have red marks all over your body?" I hear Reilly ask. The mist disappears to reveal that they have left.  
"EVALINE MARGARET MALONE HOW DARE YOU DEFY ME MY DAUGHTER!" a voice bellows, almost making me go deaf.  
"I helped a poor innocent boy with a curse. You know how I don't like curses!" I yell, hoping he can hear me.  
"You know, with my friend having a curse on her and everything? You know that's my weak point! You remember what happened with Chris!" I yell after no response. I scoff after a minute or two.  
"What did Reilly call you anyway?"  
"He called me Guppy face..." I hear my dad mumble.  
I try not to laugh for fear of getting turned into a fish myself.  
"Well maybe he feels inferior to a great almighty god like yourself?" I suggest.  
"You haven't met him. His ego is bigger than the Pacific Ocean."

Dae’s POV  
"Wake up sleepy head!" Ugene shakes me lightly. A vague memory of Ugene climbing into bed with me last night surfaces in my brain. I roll away from him, groaning about how it is two in the morning, to which he laughs at.  
"Man you're a pain in the ass to wake up! It's only ten o'clock silly!"  
Is that a brotherly tone I hear?  
"Maybe I need help... TYLER! RYLEN! GET DOWN HERE RIGHT AWAY!"  
A herd of elephants come racing down the stairs.  
"How may we be of service?" I hear Tyler ask, trying to sound like a waiter or a butler.  
"I can't seem to wake up my dear beloved sister!"  
The boys gasp with dramatics.  
"How ever can we wake her?" Rylen attempts a British accent- key word being ATTEMPTS.  
Suddenly I feel hands grab my arms and legs. I try to kick but the person at my feet moves so their arms flow with my kicks. A silent 1 2 3 passes through them and I soon find myself airborne but with hands gripping my arms and legs.  
"She is a light one!" Rylen exclaims.  
"At least half of her body weight is from a certain womanly body part!" Ugene says.  
"UGENE! GROSS!" I squeal.  
"Hey, it's true!" Ugene shrugs.  
"Okay guys let me go," I grumble.  
"Or..." Ugene and my male cousins have a private conversation using their eyes and lips. They have the advantage because I can't read lips. They set me not-so softly onto the floor but before I try to sit up I have Ugene pinning me to the floor. I scream for help, half of my brain believing someone will answer the call, half doubting the odds. Ugene ties up my wrists and then my ankles. He gags me with a sock (thank the gods it's a clean sock) before picking me up. He throws me over his shoulder as if I am five and he is going to tuck me into bed. We pass mom in the hallway but she is too focused on cleaning the kitchen that she doesn't notice. Ugene carries me up the stairs, through the hall and into his bedroom where Tyler and Rylen are there waiting. They tie me to a wooden chair. I, of course, am still persistent on screaming and I don't want to use my powers against mortal or in front of them. Tyler leaves but when he comes back, he has a makeup bag. Ugene starts off by drawing a fake mustache on my face with eyeliner. I try to yell but it only causes a piece of thread to go down my throat. They have fun with the makeup and face paint; marking up every visible piece of skin on me.  
I picked a bad night to wear shorts and a t-shirt, I think as Tyler and Ugene each pick a leg of mine to be their canvas. After a while I stop screaming and I only squirm when one of them tickles me.  
"So, Rylen I heard that you got a girl?" Tyler looks at Rylen (Who is currently drawing on my neck) and from my view I can see Rylen blush.  
"Yeah... What about her?"  
"How does she look?" Ugene asks. I feel him every once in a while tickle the inner most of my thigh, causing my foot to try to kick him.  
"She has a nice ass, not so big up top but she makes up for it."  
I can taste the bile in my mouth. My expression must be showing exactly what I am thinking because Tyler and Ugene burst out laughing. They laugh so hard that they have tears coming out of their eyes.  
"Your facial expression Diana!" Ugene laughs. He slaps his knee "you look appalled, disgusted, and downright violated!"  
This time, I kick so hard that I break the bonds on my feet, kick Ugene in the nuts, and break off the chair leg. I fall to the floor and land right on top of my brother, most of the binds coming undone. I stand up as quickly as I can then bolt downstairs. At some point I drop the sock. I run right out of the house, and when I get to Marie's I can't knock with my hand so I push the doorbell with my nose.  
Marie looks at me with humor but then with sympathy. She opens the door and I don't realize I'm crying until she gives me a hug. She helps me get up the stairs into her room. Seems as though she is home alone.  
"Diana, what happened?" she looks at me with a concerned expression as she undoes the rope binding my ankles together (the only binding that didn’t get undone). I tell her all about the ambush from the part where Ugene slipped into bed with me to coming over. Marie listens intently while undoing the damage of the ropes. Finally free, I curl up into a ball. Marie sits down next to me.  
"Diana, you better wash up. Ugene and them will probably look here after searching the house. You can use my bathroom," Marie gestures to the room across from hers.  
"Thanks," I weakly say before staggering into the bathroom.  
When I come out, I feel refreshed. All the guilt and shame washed down the drain.  
"Now Diana, I will be right back. I am going to get you some clothes. I will lock all entrances and you lock the bathroom. I will be right back," Marie calls from the other side of the door. I don't want her to leave but something in her voice... I find it fishy.  
I shake it off and lock the door.  
Ten minutes later, just when I am getting worried, I hear steps coming up the stairs.  
"Diana?" Marie calls.  
"Still here!" I call back, relief spreading through me like a heat wave.  
"I brought you clothes. I convinced Patrick to let you have a sleepover tonight, if you wan-"  
I don't let her finish.  
"Yes!" I squeal. I didn't plan on really making friends here but as they say, when in Rome... (Or, Denver Colorado for me).  
I wrap the towel around me, accept the clothes, and quickly get changed.  
"Do you mind if I invite Avery, Nathan, and Lucas over?" She calls.  
"A sleepover... With guys?" I question. I usually don't have sleepovers with non-family guys unless it might be the end of the world.  
"Don't worry, I will make them swear not to try anything even though I know they won't; just for you," She sounds as if she is trying to persuade me. I think about it.  
"It'll be fun! We could watch a movie?" Marie suggests. "Cassidy took Ella to her kayak provincials so it's just us," Marie coaxes.  
"Okay," I cave. "Wait, who is Cassidy?"  
Marie doesn't answer for a few minutes.  
"She is my adoptive mother. Cassidy Dolton and her daughter Ella Dolton," Marie finally says.  
"Okay cool. I was adopted by my aunt and then she died, so I had to come back to my real mother," I tell her. I can sense her eye widening.  
"I knew that!" she says as if I am supposed to know how she knows.  
I open the bathroom door, now fully dressed. Marie immediately grabs my wrist and pulls me into her room. I flinch but Marie doesn't notice. She goes three way with Avery and Lucas, then calls Nathan. They all can come.

"So Bambi how was your first week of hell? I mean school," Nathan asks as he enters. I am sitting on the couch watching TV when they all arrive. Lucas shuffles in; I notice that he is wearing a long sleeved shirt during this lovely 90 degrees Fahrenheit weather. Nathan smirks when I look annoyingly at him.  
"You do know I have an actual name, right?" I ask. Nathan plops down right next to me on the couch.  
"Hey Marie, what movie are we going to watch and will there be popcorn?" Nathan calls. Avery has a skull beanie over her rainbow hair, ripped up paint splattered Jean shorts, and a camo tee.  
"I think Diana should pick the movie, seeing as she is new to the group," Avery suggests. She hasn't really talked to me much so it surprises me when the girl sits down across our laps. Lucas sits in a bean bag chair.  
"Um no you can pick," I shyly say. Avery leaps off of us and bounds over to the movie case. She rummages through the case like a child going through gifts on Christmas. She holds up a movie.  
"How about Carrie?" She suggests. I see Nathan gesture with his eyes to Lucas. Avery looks at Nathan apologetically. She grabs a random movie.  
"How about... Lilo and Stitch?" Avery doesn't sound or look enthusiastic about this choice. Nathan smiles before lifting up his hand. He goes as if to poke me, but stops his finger a mere millimeter from my face.  
"HE'S TOUCHING ME!" I call to Marie, imitating Stitch.  
"Still not touching you!" Nathan copies Lilo, his voice going a few octaves higher than his usual. I can hear Marie laughing in the other room.  
Lucas laughs as well, but only a little. His bangs are hanging in front of his face and Lucas is casting an introvert aura.  
"I set up an ice cream bar in the dining room!" Marie happily informs us. She plops down on a lounge chair that sits next to the couch, a bowl of ice cream in her hands with just about every type of candy and sauce toppings you can think of. Nathan jumps up right away, grabs my ankle and drags me, literally, into the dining room. The room has a super long table with enough candy to build a life size candy igloo.  
"Come on, dig in!" Nathan encourages. I stand up.  
"Why did you grab my ankle? Normal people grab the wrist," I point out.  
"So you couldn't have escaped me!" Nathan says, playfully dark. He turns to the table. "What to have, what to have..." he turns to me.  
"What are you going to have?"  
I back away a bit; I don't want food. Patrick has been starving me so that my stomach doesn’t really feel hunger anymore.  
"I'm not hungry," I tell him. I quickly turn to run away but Nathan grabs my arm tightly. He spins me around.  
"You need food; I don't want you to end up like Lucas," Nathan harshly says. His usual joking atmosphere is gone, a serious one replacing it.  
"What do you mean 'end up like Lucas'?" I ask.  
"Lucas is anorexic and has been emitted into the hospital for it. He almost-" Nathan has tears in his eyes.  
"Almost what?"  
"He almost died," Marie says from behind me "Before school started, around the time you moved in next door. He has to go to the hospital for checkups four out of seven days of the week."  
Marie hugs me, and I hear her sniff.  
"I don't want that to happen to you..." her voice quivers. I hug her back.  
"I don't like hospitals... Plus it's not my fault that Patrick locks the cupboards after I have a light breakfast!" I say. Marie let's go and looks at me with a determined face.  
"From now on, I shall feed you," She declares. Marie gestures to the table "Starting today; go dig in.”  
Nathan and Marie watch attentively as I get a mountain of ice-cream and add just about every topping.


	8. Secrets, Persuasion, Spells and Revealing

Dae’s POV- After the Movie

We end up actually watching Lilo & Stitch-both 1 and 2- and then we watch, by request of Nathan, Bambi. I really wanted to smack him or turn him into a grape but I restrained myself. By the end of the movies I have a full stomach and am getting very tired. The sun is starting to make its way down, causing the living room to be filled with an orange hue.  
Nathan looks at my facial expression.  
"Are you tired?" he asks, a smile creeping onto his face.  
"A little," I yawn. Nathan shifts so that he is near the end of the couch. He takes off his letterman jacket, wraps it around me, and pulls me down so that I am lying down with my head rested on his leg. I take note of his watermelon cologne, how his eyes look like Aelix's and the way he handles me when we touch- gentle but firm, like Aelix does. Nathan rests his hand on my hip. I don't have the energy to go against any of it.  
"You can sleep, if you want..." Nathan starts stroking my hair. Suddenly my eyes feel like lead. I quickly fall asleep on Nathan's lap.

When I wake up, I'm not at Marie's house anymore. I am back at the house, in the basement to be exact. It is really vacant at the moment for some reason, except for my bed and a table. I see a bowl of grapes on the table and upon realizing that I'm starving, grab the bowl and down its contents in a few seconds. As the grapes go down my esophagus, I feel something rough go down too.  
"Are those good grapes? I hear a familiar voice ask. Looking up I see Joselyn, Eva, Sandra, Aelix, and a blonde guy. I bolt to their arms as fast as I can. My eyes are like a rainstorm of relief and so are the others, except for the blonde guy.  
"You have gotten so small in size!" Eva exclaims. Looking down at my own body I see the six pack I have, the slimness of my arms and legs. I look as if I haven't been fed but I have been working out- a bad combination. My legs give out; I fall to the floor.  
"Dae? Are you okay?" Aelix asks. He is by my side, kneeling down.  
"Who's Dae?" I ask even though I know the answer. Suddenly Aelix gets a pained expression. Eva, Joselyn, Sandra, and blondie's eyes turn into ovals. I watch in horror as thorny vines shoot from my bellybutton and grasp a hold of my friend's necks. I can't control them; the vines have thorns which pierce their skin and they get tighter.  
I try to run to them but the closer I get, the more thorns shoot out of the vines.  
FRIENDSHIP IS THE WORSE TO SEVER a deep voice rumbles through the room.

I am awoken by Nathan and Ugene. I am still lying with my head on Nathan's lap, and I see Nathan’s jacket on the ground. Lucas, Avery, and Marie are standing on the other side of the room; relief floods their faces when they see my eyes looking at them.  
"Sister, relax; you're belly button is not evil!" Ugene soothes.  
I stare at him with a look of disgust on my moist face.  
"What?" I attempt to ask but it coming out as more of a gargle. I try again, having more success.  
"In your sleep, you were yelling to your bellybutton. You were trying to get it to stop choking your friends," Ugene explains.  
I then notice that he is kneeling next to the couch, one hand on my thigh, the other on my forehead. With his thumb, he wipes a newly sprung tear from my face. I recoil into the couch, turning my head away and to face Nathan's thigh.  
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" I exclaim in fear, a bit louder than need be. I feel hands on me again and scream before swatting, kicking and crying.  
"Dude, back off a bit!" Nathan orders but says it like a threat. Sure enough, the hands come off. I don't realize I'm shaking until I feel a blanket being placed over me.  
"Why is he here?" I hoarsely ask.  
"We didn't know what was going on and he was the second one to pick up the phone," Nathan replies.  
"Second?" I question.  
"Martin was the first..." Nathan whispers.  
I feel another part of the couch sink. I look over and see a very mutilated version of Marie. I quickly switch over to her; she allows me to sit on her lap and cuddle into her. Marie pulls the blanket over us. The only people speaking are Avery and Ugene- according to Marie, while I was switching to her, Avery removed Ugene from the situation and is currently having 'a little talk' with him.  
"Do you wanna talk about this nightmare?" Marie softly asks. I nod and tell her, keeping the story as mortal as possible. When I finish Marie hugs me even tighter.  
"It is ok, dreams don't mean a thing," Lucas says, gazing at his sleeve.  
"I believe that dreams mean something," Marie pointedly says. They have a stare-down.  
"Now go in there and say sorry!" we hear Avery tell Ugene, "and no funny business!"  
When Ugene enters, I tense up a bit. Marie senses this and gives me a squeeze of comfort.  
"I'm sorry sister," Ugene doesn't sound sorry.  
"No you aren't, you just want me to believe that! You always apologize, say that you won’t ever hurt me or don’t want to hurt me, but it’s always a LIE! YOU ASSHOLE! YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT LOVE IS, YOU ONLY KILL AND DESTROY!" I yell my paranoia turning into a bubbling rage. I dry my eyes, giving my brother a look of hatred as I stand up and walk towards him. He first smirks but it melts away. He looks as if I just turned into a basilisk, all while I yell at him.  
"D-D-D-D-D-D-D-Diana...?" Ugene stutters. He runs out of the house clearly freaked out.  
"What the hell just happened?" Avery asks when I return my focus to them.  
"Why did Ugene look at you like that?" Nathan questions.  
Marie doesn't ask me any questions.  
"Guys, Diana just told her brother to go home or else she would tell Patrick," Marie lies in such a convincing way, even I believe for a few seconds that what she said actually happened.

I get through the night without any nightmares but only because of my friends. We stay up until 2am playing board games and talking. I don't talk much, still a bit confused as to what I did to Ugene. What did I do to scare him off?  
Everyone else tapers off to sleep while I stay awake, too scared to go to sleep. I creep into the bathroom and practice for an hour on my magic until 4 am.  
The rest of the night is spent sleeping in until 7am. At least that's when I wake up.  
I go downstairs quietly, not wanting to wake anyone. The house is eerie and I feel like I am in a haunted house. The sun is just peaking over the horizon, casting a purple-pink-orange-red masterpiece across the sky. The only blind not over its window is the one for the door. I feel bad for routing through the fridge, but I am just SO hungry! Besides, Marie said I can dig in whenever I feel like it.  
By the time the sun is all the way up, I have eaten 3 bowls of Cheerios, 2 glasses of orange juice, a banana, an apple, and a cup of puddings. I lie on the couch with a happy belly and a sad heart.  
I miss my friends from Camp HB. I miss the way Aelix's face lights up when he sees me, I miss Eva's calm demeanor (in which I could use right now), I miss Josie's laugh, and I miss Sandra's love for music. If only I had some way to contact them...  
The drachmas! I almost forgot about them!  
I quickly yet quietly sneak out of the house, totally unnoticed. I keep low to the ground. The house seems deserted when I get into it. Ugene is probably on his run, I think to myself.  
When I get to the basement, Tyler, Paige, Rylen, Zane and Quincy are all sleeping in my room. Tyler is snoring so loud, it covers up the creaky boards.  
The book I hollowed out is thankfully still there. I pull it out, the anticipation getting to its highest intensity level. The coins are still there.  
"What are you doing?"  
I quickly drop the book, leaving the bag of coins in it. Tyler wipes his eyes, getting rid of the sleep.  
"I am just bringing a book over to Marie's. She wants me to read it to her," I lie. I am apparently good at lying and he believes me.  
When I get back upstairs, I am greeted by Patrick.  
"What are you doing home?" he asks "Aren't you supposed to be doing hair and makeup with your buddy Marie?"  
He looks me up and down; my Dionysus senses are tingling. The odor of Vodka hits my nose. Patrick is drunk. He stumbles over to me and collapses to the ground.  
"You're pretty..." he mumbles in a drunken stupor. I help him up, trying my best not to drop him. He waves his hand; a black mist forms a bottle into his hand.  
"Here is your meds sweetie!" he says in a high pitched voice. It is now that I notice Patrick's outfit: a pair of black boxers and his left sock.  
"Patty, get up here!" I hear my mother call- also in a drunken stupor- "we need to make some magic!"  
I've had enough. I grab my book, bolt out of the house, and as soon as I get to Marie's I am tackled by Nathan. He pins me on the ground.  
"Where have you been? We woke up and thought Ugene took you!" Nathan exclaims.  
"Sorry; I forgot something at the house and I had to get it. I'm fine, so can you please get off of me? I'm used to getting pinned down by Ugene, but it doesn't mean that I like it anymore!" I say with a bit too much sourness in my voice.  
Nathan hastily gets off of me.  
"Oh Uh sorry I didn't know..." he sounds hurt. His aura flips to an embarrassed sadness.  
"Guys, I found her!" Nathan calls back into the house.  
As if a herd of elephants is in the house, everyone comes outside. Marie approaches me with a bottle of orange liquid that looks like orange juice.  
"Diana, thank gods you are alright!" she exclaims. I can't stop starring at the liquid. Marie notices this.  
"It's your medication, you know for your ADHD and Dyslexia?" Marie informs me. I attempt to get up so I can run into the house, but I am not as fast as Marie and Avery. The girls grab my arms- a surprisingly firm grip on Marie's part- as Marie passes the orange liquid vial to Lucas.  
"Don’t worry- I have had enough practice with needles to do this. I have to help my little sister with her medication," Lucas calmly explains. It doesn't help though. I kick, scream, curse, thrash, anything to try to get away but to no ado. I feel the liquid enter my system through my thigh; it burns as it goes up through my body and I suppress the urge to scream. Instead I writhe in pain.  
"Diana, are you okay?" Marie asks concerned.  
"It..... BURNS!" I manage to get out. Every day the supposed 'medicine' gets worse each day I take it. I don't understand why I have to take it today; it's not like I'm going to school today!  
"Diana, deep breaths," Marie commands as calmly as she can. I don't obey. "Take deep breaths," she orders with more intensity. I obey this time and try to take deep breaths but it is as if I can't get enough air for my lungs. Suddenly I go still. So still that everyone looks at me in alarm-everyone but Marie.  
"Diana, can you move?" she asks.  
I can move my eyes, and I can finally breathe but that's it.  
"Nathan and Avery, can you carry her please?" Marie asks tightly. They carry me- Avery taking my upper half, Nathan taking the lower. At first I wonder why Marie isn't helping but I push it aside. They set me down on the couch.  
"Why did she pass out? When will she wake up?" I hear Nathan ask. At first I am confused by that statement-I'm not passed out- but then remember that he is a mortal therefore the mist is protecting his eyes from seeing me.  
“She is afraid of needles, clearly!” Avery says as if it’s the most obvious answer.  
“She’ll be okay. It IS medication, right?” Marie says. They all nod, zombie-like.

After a while it wears off- at this point everyone is gone except Marie.  
She enters the room, my book in her hands. She throws the little bag I stole from Patrick's car my first day of school at me. She looks at the bag thoughtfully then back at me.  
"Why do you have drachmas?"

Sandra’s POV  
"Does everyone have the ingredients?" Ginnifer asks.  
I have heard of Ginnifer but this is the first time I have SEEN her in person. She has shoulder length slightly curly brown hair. She wears a bunch of rings that have different symbols on them, bright red skinny jeans, combat boots, and a black leather jacket. She has a kind yet mystical look in her eyes and a warm smile. Ginnifer stands in front of a black cauldron, an army green mist swirling in it making the pot look bottomless. I put in all of my herbs (47 different herbs) which were in a tea shop and a mystical garden.  
Ginnifer tells me which ones to drop in and when. Joselyn- whose clothes are shredded and has multiple scratch marks on her arms and legs- brings forth the hellhound nail clippings. Ginnifer adds them in, chanting a spell. Next Aelix and Cole stride up to the cauldron with a big ziplock bag full of monster hair. I notice that Aelix is walking with a limp, there is something red staining his lips, and Cole chuckles whenever he looks at his friend.  
Ammon isn't here- Eva said something about a long lost brother- so Eva puts in the scale. Ajax pours in a water bottle full of drakon snot. Ginnifer chants some more. Once done, she looks at us and smiles.  
"Should be good in five months," she informs us.  
"FIVE MONTHS?" we all exclaim.  
"Yes. Unless you have some sort of DNA sample. Then it will only take two months," Ginnifer puts her hands on her hips.  
"You said you wanted a faster solution than what the rest of the cabin is doing; their spell will take 7-9 months depending on who does it and how strong their magic is. Thankfully, I'm one of the more practiced magicians here. So don't complain," Ginnifer doesn't sound as if she is trying to sound rude, more like she is defending herself.  
"I could go get her hairbrush?" Aelix suggests. Ginnifer thinks.  
"If it has enough hair, it will work."  
Aelix disappears then reappears with a hairbrush.  
"Whoa!" Cole exclaims. "How did you do that?"  
"Fear traveling- very rare power amongst my siblings. It's like shadow traveling but a bit more complicated. I'll explain later," Aelix hands the brush to Ginnifer. There is enough hair to make a sock due to how long Dae's hair is.  
Ginnifer drops it in the cauldron.  
"Two months...." Eva mutters. "Hopefully she can hold on until then."

It is 4pm when we take a nice water break. I feel bad for all of the dummies we decapitated- especially the ones Joselyn beheaded. Eva and I just beheaded them whereas Josie shredded them into a pile of confetti. She really needs to talk about her anger management with Mitchell.  
The water replenishes my dry throat and pleases my stomach.  
"Hey Eva, can I have a refill?" Josie calls from the bench. Eva, whom is practicing with a bow and arrow, nods before shooting. The arrow hits the bullseye and the board splits in half. Eva shakes her head in frustration-that's her fifth board today- and marches over to Josie. She snatches the water bottle out of Josie's hands; it fills with water.  
"You okay there Evaline?" I ask; we only use her full name when we are super worried or things are serious. She pushes her brown hair back out of her face and ties it in a ponytail.  
"Yeah, why?"  
"That's your fifth board you have broken today," I calmly inform her.  
"I know," she states.  
"Maybe you should ease up on training?" I suggest "maybe we should all ease up on training. We could go for a swim?"  
"I will swim when we find Dae. Now, we must train because we have no clue what we will be up against. Last time it was an army of demigods. This time is could be an army of mortals; we can't hurt mortals with the Celestial bronze swords," Eva snaps.  
I haven't seen Eva this raged since when we were twelve, the night we found Ajax...  
"Evaline Margret Malone!" Joselyn screeches "I do NOT want to hear that attitude with you. In fact I would think you would be the last person to go negative!"  
Eva sighs.  
"I'm trying not to be angry but I can't always be the calm happy one!" She screeches back.  
"GUYS!" I yell. They both look at me.  
"We aren't getting anything accomplished by fighting with each other. Now let's wash up and take a well needed break." I command.  
After persuading Nico into making us cupcakes, we sit at the Poseidon picnic table (mostly because it is closest to the kitchen) and play a game of pinocle with a moping god of wine. I have no clue how to play but Dionysus is too depressed to care. He just sits there drinking Pepsi from a gallon-big water bottle on wheels.

Diana’s POV  
I am frozen on the spot.  
"Drachmas?" I say after too long pause "what are those?"  
Marie rolls her eyes before extending her hand.  
"My name is Marie Allison Tomlinson, daughter of Aphrodite. I worked for Ares," she says.  
Something breaks; I can feel it in my heart, cracking, splitting shattering inside.  
"You... WHAT?"  
"I worked. As in past tense. You know my sister, Ella? She is a daughter of Ares. I broke my allegiance when I saw you on the balcony sacrifice yourself. I am pretending to be on Ares side and am hoping to help on your side; whatever I need to do." she explains.  
"Straight-forward much" I mutter. Marie laughs.  
"I know"  
"Wait, how come you didn't say something sooner? I've known you for like three weeks!"  
"Well you look different" she says as if it is the most obvious thing ever.  
I am taken aback.  
"What? How?"  
She looks me up and down.  
"Well, you are a tad more fit, yet you look as if you have been sick for a while. You have no spirit in your eyes, your hair is longer, and you look beaten. Plus I only saw you on the balcony and have only heard descriptions." she observes. Suddenly there is a rapping on the door.  
"Marie, open up!" Ugene calls "I have a surprise for my dear sister!"  
Marie looks at me with a questioning atmosphere.  
"Tell him to come in an hour," I order. She obeys.  
"He's coming back at five so in an hour," she looks at the book "what is the book for?"  
I feel my cheeks redden.  
"I am learning magic..." I admit.  
She looks at me excitedly.  
"Really? Can you do magic for me?"  
I sit up. I close my eyes and concentrate like I did last night while practicing my magic. Suddenly the room fills with a purple mist. Marie screams in joy.  
"Where the hell are we?" a British accented voice asks.  
"What the hell? We were just watching Robin Hood!" when the mist clears I see five boys standing in the living room.  
"Who are they?" I ask a Fangirling Marie.  
"Do you have any food?" the blonde boy asks. He has an Irish accent. Another one with shorter black hair and a bunch of tattoos crosses his arms.  
"Niall, you can't just appear magically in some fans house and ask them for food!"  
The blonde guy, Niall, looks down.  
"Sorry Zayn."  
"It’s One Direction!!!!!" Marie squeals.  
I make them disappear after they sign a bunch of stuff.  
"Did you mean to bring One Direction here?" she asks.  
"Not specifically; I just thought of willing whatever singer or band you really liked into appearing in your living room." I tell her.  
Marie hugs the One Direction merchandise, rocking from the heels of her feet to the balls of her feet.  
"OMG bring them back! I could charm speak them into doing whatever I want..."  
"No, that took too much energy," I tell her and it's true; I feel like I am going to pass out. In truth I didn't mean to do that- I just pictured my friends appearing and Aelix doing a weird British accent as a welcoming. Oh well, it made Marie happy.  
"You can take another nap if you want......?"  
"No. No naps" I say straight away.  
Marie looks at the drachmas.  
"Why do you have these?" she asks. She jumps up in surprise when a vine grabs the bag out of her hand and place it on my lap.  
"I stole them from Patrick. I am going to Iris message my friends at Camp Half Blood when I get home. Ugene has a football practice so it should be okay for me to do that," I answer honestly.  
"OH DEAR SISTER!" I hear Ugene call from the door. "I'm here to pick you up!"  
I groan and gather my stuff (which only takes 3 minutes). Apparently Ugene is lacking patience because he bangs on the door. I hug Marie goodbye before facing my brother. As soon as I am within arm reach he grabs my elbow, tows me back to the house, and once inside, throws me into the basement- literally- very hard. I groan but nothing else.  
"I'll be back later," Ugene calls after throwing my bags down.  
I weakly get up.  
"Paige, Tyler, Rylen, and Quincy are coming to the game so you will be home alone," Ugene calls. I hear a light click. I bolt up the stairs only to find the door locked.  
"Shit," I mutter. I try bursting the door open with my powers but I only cause flowers to grow on it. I try kicking down the door but I am too light. I even try to pick the lock with a vine, but that doesn't work either. I slump on my bed, feeling defeated and depressed. Why me? I am the weakest in the group, why would they steal me?  
Oh, right. They need me to help with rebuilding the army to go against the gods. Ares wants to be the new Zeus. I am supposed to anchor the whole army. Well, they are going to have to somehow control me if they want my assistance.  
After about an hour and a half, I start to wonder around. The walls in every room down here are painted a weird grey color. The furniture outside of my room is very bland colors (i.e. beige, grey, etc...) and the TV is black 80 inch flat screen. Then, past the chill room downstairs, I see a wonderful sight; the bathroom. I run back to pick up the drachmas, snatch the bag, and bolt back to the bathroom. I start the water with an adrenaline rush, my hands shaking in excitement that I almost put in into shower mode. I make sure the water is perfect temperature.  
"Lady Iris, please accept my offering," I softly say. Using my fingers I flip the drachma so it flips in midair before hitting the water. For a moment, nothing happens. But just as I was thinking it wouldn't work, a rainbow shoots out of the water, circles air a few times, and then creates a circular mirror. But instead of seeing my reflection, I see Evaline, Joselyn, and Sandra.


	9. Relationships

Joselyn’s POV

I seriously love my brother! First he made me breakfast in bed- my favorite, pancakes with a wack load of fruit- then he surprised me by asking if I wanted to try to find new powers-I said yes- and then he arranged a private lunch for Cole and I and my friend group. Nico even bought me a fancy shirt (he knows how much I don't like dresses). Nico served us a bunch of spicy food.  
But we weren't the only ones getting catered by the older sibling; Percy served Eva (although the Stoll twins weren't helping out Percy very well) and Will served Sandra.  
"Who put a whoopee cushion under my butt?!" Ammon asks, clearly enraged. Eva tries not to laugh but everyone else does.  
I've seen a change in Ammon and Evaline since the battle at the fortress; they both are more talkative, and not as serious, I think while watching them. They have also opened up to us; I had no clue about what Chris did until the whole Hecate cabin thing, and Eva stayed up last night telling us stories about her past. Sandra and I shared some too, I even told them how my mom almost died and went insane. It is still a touchy subject to me but now I feel like a big weight has been lifted off my chest.  
Right now, we talk about different things that are on our mind, Ammon saying how he is worried for Aelix, Cole says that he and Ammon had to put Aelix under anesthetics today because he was so insanely mad. They said that he will be getting some serious help and that currently the only thing keeping him going is the hope that Diana is still alive. Even though the dinner is supposed to distract us from our current problem, we eventually end up on the topic of Dae.  
"So, you have no clue where this girl is?" Cole's brother, Leo, asks.  
"We have a school name. That's it," I reply coolly before going back for another bite of jambalaya.  
"Pearson High School," Ajax says, joining in on the conversation.  
"Why don't we go there then?!" Nico exclaims, dropping his plate of food. He looks down at the broken bowl and pasta without any emotion.  
"Why do you care so much?" The Stolls ask in such perfect unison, it's scary. Nico and Percy exchange glances.  
"Let's just say that I have had plenty of loses in my life, I don't want to pass it along to Joselyn," he mutters loud enough for almost everyone to hear. Knowing that Nico could literally release hell when upset, they leave the matter at that. Although I hug him, seeing as I am his sister.  
"There are multiple schools called Pearson High School. We need to narrow down which one," Ajax says, breaking the silence.  
"How long is the tracking spell going to take?" Percy asks with a general curiosity.  
"It's not a tracking spell. It will send a GPS to Diana and she will have to turn it on. The thing is, she might not know how to do so," Ammon chirps up.  
Suddenly a bright light comes from somewhere behind Sandra. She spins around, gasping at what she sees.  
"Dae!" she exclaims. Eva and I are instantly by her side.  
The first thing I see in the light is her black hair. But the girl owning the raven girls sort of resembles Diana. The girl on the other side of the Iris message is skinnier and more fit. She doesn't have that sparkle in her emerald eyes, there is a lot of tension in her shoulders, and she has a few fresh bruises. Her clothes are totally not what she would usually wear; a red tank top with high cut short-shorts. She has bracelet cuffs to hide the scar on her arm. I am taken aback by how skinny and unhealthy she looks. I can SEE her ribs.  
Her eyes widen when she focuses on us.  
"It worked?!" she exclaims rather doubtingly. I don't know what it was but something about the way she said it makes me chuckle.  
"Diana! How have you been?" Eva exclaims from beside me. Diana's eyes start tearing up- as do ours - and she sit down on the floor of what looks like a small bathroom. I notice the scars from the attack at the cliff are totally gone: something even I know is nearly impossible.  
"Diana, where are your scars?" Ajax asks in amazement. Sandra smacks him lightly.  
Diana puts a hand to her shoulders.  
"They're gone?!" she says in amazement. A laugh erupts from her, sounding as if she is savoring the laughter.  
"How are you?!" Eva repeats. Dae looks at Eva as if she just randomly appeared. She calms down after realizing its Evaline.  
"I'm good," she lies. I look at her like 'are you kidding me?'.  
Suddenly, the sound of a door opening and closing is heard. Dae yelps, jumps up in surprise, then goes into the fetal position.  
"Diana?" I hear an unfamiliar male voice call. Diana slowly gets up as the voice gets louder, walks unsteadily to the door, and opens it before sticking her head out.  
"I'm going for a shower Tyler!" she yells.  
"You're not the one who drove all the way to a football game to find out they got the date wrong for nationals!" Ugene's annoying voice yells.  
"Well, use a different bathroom, I'm using this one!" she yells back. I hear Ugene answer back something that sounds like 'duck poo'.  
She returns to view.  
"THAT'S your definition of 'good'?" I say.  
Diana's mouth quavers.  
"No..." her voice squeaks and I soon find myself watching her weep her eyes out.  
"I hate it here, I hate my school, I hate my life here! My only friend turned out to be one of the demigod soldiers against us, I barely get fed, I am paranoid that Ugene is going to pop out somewhere with a needle full of medicine to help with the ADHD and Dyslexia that burns each time, and I am always on guard. I have been having the same nightmare for weeks now..." she sobs. "I want to come back to Camp Half Blood. I will even sleep in the Aphrodite cabin!"  
"We WILL come and get you!" Eva tells her with determination in her voice.  
Dae looks at each of us, and suddenly her face looks horrified.  
“Where is Aelix?!” She asks desperately. We all look at her in confusion.  
“He is in the infirmary, asleep,” Ammon replies. Diana’s body twitches.  
“Asleep, as in dead?!” She asks, as if she is afraid of the answer.  
“NO, asleep as in he is tired! What gave you the impression that he is dead?” Ajax, surprisingly, exclaims.  
“Ugene told me-” She starts, but Ajax cuts her off.  
“Don’t trust what Ugene tells you! He is just trying to make you lose hope in yourself and us! Don’t give up on us or yourself!” Ajax looks like he wants to slit someone’s throat, and it is scaring Dae. She curls up in a tighter ball, puts her head in her knees.  
“Sorry, I won’t say anything like that again. Just, don’t tell Ugene!” Her voice sounds as if she is begging for mercy, which is odd because we can’t touch her right now. Sandra smacks Ajax.  
“Ajax, you made her upset!”  
“I’m OKAY!” She screeches, startling all of us. Sandra takes a deep breath.  
"Dae! Where are you?" Sandra asks desperately.  
"In the bathroom, why?" Diana looks at Sandra with confusion written all over her face.  
"No, what state, city, country are you in?"  
Suddenly the door explodes open. Diana covers her face to protect from the flying wood. When the dust clears, a man is standing near the edge of the Iris message.  
"Taking a shower my ass!" Ugene yells. He then notices us.  
"Made a call have we?" he asks, enraged. Diana, who is in a cloud of dust, can't run away. We watch in complete horror as Ugene picks Diana up by only her wrist. He throws her against the wall, a crack resounding, and Dae crumples to the ground. He exits quickly and enters at the same pace.  
"Little sister must be punished..." Ugene drawls out. He looks at us.  
"Oh!" he exclaims excitedly "Your little friends can sit and watch!"  
Ugene cuffs Dae to the plumbing tubes, saunters over to his cart of torturing devices, and crosses his arms.  
"Joselyn Hunt.... What weapon do you usually use?" Ugene asks in his evilly playful voice.  
"I don't know what you are talking about," I tightly answer, knowing what he is doing. Unfortunately, Ajax doesn't.  
"Seriously? Joselyn you use a whip!" he says.  
Sandra smacks him harder than before. Ugene pulls out a whip.  
"That's right!" he fakes the pep in his voice.  
"Sister whipped me once before..." Ugene mutters. He cuts off Diana's shirt to show off her almost completely bare back.  
Diana screams every single time the whip opens a wound on her porcelain skin. We scream at Ugene, yelling threats, profanity and a bit of encouragement to Diana. Her screams soon die down and I realize it is because her screams are so high, her voice can't physically handle it.  
I don't know how long we sit there watching our friend getting whipped and knowing we can't do anything about it. Once Ugene is satisfied with his work, he goes over to his torture cart to set his whip down. He takes out some wires from a weird looking box, attaches one to Diana’s head, the other to Diana’s chest. He then uncuffs Diana and hog ties her with rope. Ugene places a sock in her mouth. Nico and Percy seem to know what Ugene is going to do, because Nico whispers in my ear not to attack the Iris message. Ugene flicks a switch and Diana starts writhing in pain. I try to run to her, in fact Sandra and Eva does too, but we get held down by our brothers. Diana tenses up, arches her back, kicks, and cries out. Ugene flicks the switch down and she stops. He does this multiple times.  
“LET HER GO UGENE!” I yell. Ugene stops the machine, looks at me deviously over his shoulder, and chuckles.  
“And if I don’t? What are you going to do? You are currently some thousands miles away, possibly over water! You have no advantage point right now, you cannot reach me, and I am torturing your little bitch! The only thing you can do is watch and yell profanities at me!”  
He walks over to Diana, picks her up, and chucks her body at the wall. The wall, a stone wall, cracks. Ugene looks at his sister, puzzled for a moment.  
“No...” Nico whispers from behind me.  
“It can’t be!” Will exclaims from behind Sandra.  
“What?! What is it guys?” Eva asks.  
“We have to tell Kacey, alert Chiron immediately!” Percy instructs. They leave, well, all accept Nico. Ugene shrugs it off and goes to his cart.  
He sighs in frustration.  
"My knife is gone... Mom must have used it for cooking last night," Ugene says to himself.  
"I will be right back!" Ugene sings happily.  
"Diana?!" We all whimper in unison. She shifts uncomfortably before struggling to a sitting position. She takes her hair elastic out of her braid.  
"Denver Colorado," she is able to say. We scream her name but we know that we can't help her now. The last thing we see is the flying hair elastic, a look of defeat on Diana's face, and her body collapse again.  
When I look back I see that Nico has his phone out.  
"What are you doing?" I question whilst wiping away tears.  
"I videotaped the whole Iris message." Nico replies, tapping his phone.  
"Gotta love technology," he says but no joyfulness is in his tone.  
I look at our group. Ammon is right now comforting a depressed looking Evaline, offering examples of Diana's perseverance (i.e. at the fortress). Ajax and Sandra have gone off for a little talk. I feel strong arms wrap around my waist and the smell of shaving cream and jalapeño hitting my nostrils.  
"Josie, we will get her back!"  
I look him straight in the eyes.  
"After all she is going through, are you sure we will get the old her back?”

Dae’s POV  
I wish my friends didn't have to see that. I tried to stay strong but I couldn't. It killed me to hear them scream, and they knew they couldn't do anything about what was happening. I hope that they heard me when I told them where I was because I truly believe that they will come get me. After I disconnect the call, Ugene re-enters the bathroom with his knife. I don't dare meet his eyes; if I do I know I won't be able to stay strong (or what I am calling strong right now). Ugene strides over, grabs my right arm, takes off my protective bracelet, and makes four lines across the scar there.  
"Aelix," first scratch.  
"Evaline," second one.  
"Joselyn," third one.  
"Sandra," last mark. I stifle a scream each time for the knife burns my skin and cuts my flesh. Suddenly, just before Ugene is able to use these weird pins, a black mist engulfs the torturing devices making them disappear. When the mist clears I see Patrick at the door way.  
"Ugene..." He sighs disapprovingly.  
"What?! She isn't cooperating!" Ugene exclaims. "Plus she made a call home!"  
Shit.  
Patrick looks at me and I don't meet his eyes either.  
"Okay but she has had her punishment so go back upstairs and explain to Tyler, Paige, Quincy, Martin, Neil, Rylen and your mother why Diana was screaming," Patrick orders. I hear Ugene's footsteps recede; Patrick unlocks the handcuffs. He doesn't say anything to me, but I know by his facial expression that he wants to examine the whip marks. I painfully roll onto my stomach, and I yelp at each touch.  
"Diana, I can't heal you if I hear you screaming," Patrick tells me. My eyes want to cry but there is no water left. Patrick rolls me onto my back but lifts me up into a sitting position. He kneels down in his fancy khaki pants to look into my eyes. Under his football jersey is one of his famous button up blouses. He takes both of his shirts off and puts the blouse on me to help stop the blood flow.  
"Thank you," I croak.  
"You remind me of your mother you know," he states.  
"She was also whipped by her brother in front of her friends?" I manage to get out. I wrap my arms protectively across my torso- now covered by Patrick's blouse- and curl into a ball. Patrick chuckles but stops when he notices my facial expression.  
"No, just your looks and sometimes the way you act," he says. I look at him weirdly.  
"Tell me more; I haven't really had a conversation with her, a heart-to-heart," I ask of him.  
"She is smart, as most surgeons are, she is kind, funny, independent yet can admit it when she needs someone," Patrick says in a daze.  
THUD THUD THUD.  
"Diana?!" I hear my mother yell.  
"BATHROOM," Patrick yells. He turns back to me. "You're going to get help," Patrick whispers. I nod my head.  
"Oh my goodness!" my mom exclaims. "Ugene is in so much trouble!"  
My mom secures my shirt before helping me up.  
"Patrick, take her to my office," Mom orders.  
Patrick lifts me up from the ground, my mom helping. I vaguely remember entering through a secret door, being placed on my stomach on a table, and my mom's soothing tone speaking to me. I soon hear Quincy, Paige, and Marie's voice. Marie holds my hand as I writhe in pain. Her job is to make sure I don't swing my arms back. Quincy and Tyler are helping my mom, and Paige is making sure I don't kick my legs.  
"Diana, it’s going to be okay," Marie calmly tells me. She sees a tear running down my face.  
I feel something cold and wet being placed against my back. It stings so much and I try to contain my scream but I can't hold it in.  
"Tyler, go grab the vial of green medicine!" my mom commands.  
I struggle against Paige and Marie.  
"Dae, they are going to put you to sleep, okay?" Marie calmly says. I start screaming and crying but it's no use.  
"It's the one that can make demigods go to sleep," She whispers. I look at her with wide eyes.  
"Does she know?" I croak. Marie nods.  
"Patrick told her."  
I feel a hand on my shoulder, and feel something enter my skin. Like a forest fire it burns my blood and spreads just as fast. I feel my eyes flutter, Marie starts getting blurry, and I feel my body starting to slowly relax.  
“Diana?” I hear Ugene’s voice. Why am I hearing his voice?  
“Sister, I’m sorry. I’m really, truly Sorry!”  
I see his blurry form in front of me. I want to punch him.  
“YOU ARE NOT SORRY YOU DID THIS!” I yell at the top of my lungs. I hear Marie ask who I yelled at, then something else get injected into my bloodstream.  
Everything goes black.


	10. Meetings

Evaline's POV- two days after the Iris message

How long does it take to set up a meeting at Camp Half Blood? Two days! Two days of worrying about Dae (the girl got whipped by her own brother for crying out loud) and wondering how she is, and two days of intense training/stress reliever. Two days of having a nervous/excited tick of some sort (for me it's my fingers, for Joselyn it's her eye and for Sandra it's her nose). 48 hours of anticipation building and almost bubbling over. 172 800 seconds with a nagging voice saying 'you could have been saving her now'.  
Aelix still doesn't know about us getting in contact with Diana and Kacey plans on keeping it that way. The last thing we need is for him to go into another mental breakdown. To him, we are waiting for the spell to work. Although, now that I think about it...  
"Hey Eva!" Ammon calls, drawing me out of my thoughts. I look up from my drawing of Dae to see my boyfriend standing in the doorway of my cabin. He strides over to see what I have drawn. He whistles.  
"Nice."  
I look down at the drawing. I drew Dae at the dance: when she was truly happy. It was the first time in months I had heard her laugh a true laugh, smile a sincere smile, and I just wanted to captivate it on paper.  
"What's up Ammon?" I ask.  
"The meeting is starting in 5 minutes. Thought I should escort you to it, being your boyfriend and all." Ammon sticks out his elbow. I put down my sketchbook into the safe, secure it (I'm still wondering how Percy got the combination...) and take my boyfriend's arm.  
"It's going to be a lot easier to get Dae now," Ammon says, trying to make conversation "since she told us an almost exact location. Remember?"  
"Am I one to easily forget things? Denver Colorado." I express.  
"Now we don't need to do the tracking spell. Or the sending spell; we can simply go to Pearson High in Denver and wait for her," Ammon says.  
"That is, if they don't relocate," I point out.

When we get to the Meeting room, everyone is there. Sandra is sitting in the Apollo chair (with Gwen on her lap), Joselyn is in the Hades chair with Kilby on her lap, and Ajax has a box under the table.  
I sit at the Poseidon chair, as Ammon takes his chair. Reilly and Kacey both enter. Reilly goes to stand behind Ammon. Kacey clears her throat.  
"Hello. First thing on the list; welcome back Reilly King. Evaline Malone and Ammon Nikomedes were the ones to help free him from his tavern,"  
"I could have gotten out if I wanted to. In fact I had a plan ready!" He interrupts. Kacey gives him her 'shut up now' expression before continuing.  
Now I know what my dad meant when he said that Reilly has an ego the size of the ocean, I think to myself.  
"So we have recently learned that Diana Summers/Envis, whatever her last name is-" I hear someone say 'Phillips' "- was taken to Denver Colorado. The Hecate cabin has cancelled all of their spells and we are now going to start planning our attack," Kacey continues.  
"Why are we going through all this trouble to save her? She has little to no worth!" Brittany voices up. Joselyn stands up, walks over and punches the daughter of Aphrodite so quickly that no one stops her. Cole leads Joselyn back to her seat.  
"Diana is the first daughter of Dionysus in 50/100 years. She is the most powerful child of Dionysus. Along with being the first daughter of Dionysus, she got injections of Dionysus blood when she was little. She was also the anchor of the army Ares created, an anchor they could always remake." Kacey calmly explains but I know her temper is getting the best of her.  
"Man, she's seriously screwed over!" Reilly says from behind Ammon. My boyfriend gives him a warning look.  
"Can it, King," Kacey snaps at him. Kacey and Ammon have a silent conversation before she continues.  
"We will have a testing for demigods in each cabin. Only the most skilled will come on the quest. The only people who don't need to come for testing are Evaline Malone, Joselyn Hunt, Sandra Anderson and, depending on his mental state, Aelix Phillips. The rest will have to try out." Kacey declares. Some people protest, others stay quiet, and I see some people getting a ticked off twitch.  
"AND THEY WILL ALSO HELP JUDGE," Kacey yells.  
Suddenly everyone is looking at us. I feel Ammon's hand slip into mine.  
"Let's begin," Kacey awkwardly says.

Sandra’s POV

The training arena has two picnic tables set up. Each table has a stack of paper with a pen, a highlighter, and a glass of water. Due to my Dyslexia, Joselyn points out the names and writes down my comments for me. Gwen is sitting on my lap, playing with a ball of sun.  
"Ginnifer Stroud," Kacey announces.  
Ginnifer struts in and does her magic. Using mechanical dummies, she shows us how she can stun victims and freeze them.  
"I vote for her to come with us," Joselyn proclaims.  
"Any against?" Kacey asks. Neither Eva nor I says anything.  
"Definite YES," I tell her. Ginnifer smiles before making all her utilities disappear.  
And the auditions drag on, and on, and on for the rest of the day. It's gotten to the point where Gwen has taken the initiative to play entrance songs on the clarinet to help build confidence. After a guy from the Athena cabin- Justin Frank- is accepted into our rescue party, I get a text from Ajax.

Hey Sandy, do you have a minute? I have a surprise for you!  
XOXO Ajax

"I'll be right back, I have to go to the bathroom," I inform my friends while getting up to go.  
"Have a fun piss!" Josie calls on my way out. I stop to chuckle.  
Ajax, when I find him, is sitting at a picnic table with that same box I noticed earlier. As soon as he sees me, my boyfriend runs over and gives me a kiss on the lips. His lips taste like hazelnut and he smells like axe. I breathe in his scent knowing that this is my Ajax.  
"I have a surprise for you," Ajax softly tells me. He gestures to the box.  
"Go look inside," he tells me.  
I approach the box half cautious half excited. As soon as I open the lid, I squeal with joy.  
"Where? Why? How?" I quickly ask him.  
"I found his mother in an alleyway behind a trash can. I brought it to a mortal vet- thinking it to be too fat for an alley cat- and found out it was pregnant. I simply asked to keep one of the babies, seeing as I found the mother," Ajax explains. I tackle him in a hug.  
"What are you going to name him?" my wonderful boyfriend asks. I go over to the box and observe the cat. It is small enough to fit in my two hands, has big green eyes that remind me of Diana's, and Ajax put a collar on it. The fur is a light orange, with some faint white strips going down his torso. I pick him up in my arms; give his head a kiss before nuzzling my nose into his fur. It smells of ginger.  
"I'm naming it Ginger," I declare. Ajax chuckles.  
"Whatever you like."  
One burning question is in my mind and slips out of my mouth.  
"Why?"  
Ajax chuckles again.  
"Because I know how much you like cats, and how having a pet can help with emotional stuff too," Ajax sounds as if there is something he isn't telling me...  
Suddenly, Kacey bursts through the door.  
"Ajax, Victor, your turn," She calls. I give Ajax another kiss before we both enter the training area. Gwen instantly falls in love with Ginger, as do the girls. I let Gwen snuggle Ginger making sure she doesn't scare or choke my cat. Ajax, thankful, gets accepted. One thing I know for sure is that his super speed and agility are going to be needed.

Dae’s POV

When I wake, I have a sour taste in my mouth. All over the inside of my mouth taste like moldy sock mixing with raw fish and Brussels sprouts. I am lying on my stomach in an unfamiliar bed, a searing, burning pain emitting from my back. Although I can't remember why. I lift up my face a bit, which is followed my whispers nearby and then someone gently pushing my head back down. I groan in pain and slight frustration. I try to get up from the bed but as soon as I scrunch up the skin of my shoulders, the pain gets even more intense.  
A cool hand brushes hair away from my face.  
"Diana?" Patrick's weirdly hopeful voice says, sounding far away. I groan in response.  
"She's awake!" Patrick yells in glee. A stampede of footsteps comes barreling from below.  
"Is she really awake?" I hear Neil ask.  
Suddenly, I hear something get placed by the bed. It sounds of metal and plastic hitting each other.  
"I will warn you, she will be a bit woozy but you can take her to go see Martin," My mom’s voice says from somewhere in the room. I feel hands grab my arms and lift me to a sitting position on the bed. My vision is blurry from both tears and the drugs.  
Speaking of drugs, how is that possible? I'm immune to mortal drugs so how did my mother give medications?  
"Diana? Can you hear me?" Patrick asks.  
I groan and nod as a response.  
"Where are you hurting?" My mother asks.  
"Back" I try to say but it comes out as 'bcth".  
"Back?" my mom guesses.  
I groan and nod my head.  
"Honey, do you remember what happened?" she concernedly asks. I shake my head no.  
"Patrick, alone" I try to say, it coming out like 'pthck alin.'  
"She wants to speak with me alone," Patrick guesses. I nod.  
"Clear out!" my mom yells to everyone. I hear multiple moans and questions but they all leave including my mom.  
"I know you have some questions," Patrick starts. I hear him snap his fingers and then find my voice.  
"What happened? Why am I here? Why aren't I immune to the drugs?"  
Patrick sighs heavily whilst running a hand through his raven curls.  
"You were bad, and contacted your friends," Patrick admits after a big pause. "Ugene caught you in the act and punished you by whipping you in front of all your friends. You are in your mother’s home lab. Your mother knows you are a demigod and Ares gave you some Nectar-like substance; hence the gods-awful taste in your mouth," Patrick explains.  
"How did mom find out?" I ask in amazement.  
"I told her," Pat says simply. "I explained what Ares wanted me to. She knows that you are a daughter of Dionysus and Ares told her that Ugene is simply a curious mortal which is why he does a bunch of crap to you."  
Patrick looks at me wearily.  
"She took a pint of blood... So don't try to stand up for a bit, ok?"  
I look at him in awe and try to stand up. Immediately I fall to the ground.  
"What did I JUST tell you?!" Patrick says sternly. He lifts me up in a piggy back and lifts me out.  
"I have a meeting with Ares's Counsel to decide what to do about you," he informs me. "Guess you are coming with me."  
Patrick opens a portal of black mist.  
The Counsel room is just like an illegal dog fight pit and is half full. Some people look familiar (probably due to the fact that these people were there during the Big Battle) and some are monsters. Most of them eye me with a cold stare; some of them look like they want to eat me. I decide not to focus on that and snuggle in to Patrick. There is Greek writing along each seat along with some pictures. I can surprisingly read the Greek, but Patrick insists on keeping moving. He sits down in one of the seats, placing me on his lap.  
"Now Diana, here are the rules; don't speak unless spoken to, don't make eye contact with any monsters, and when addressing Ares, say Lord Ares. If he requests for you to go into the pit, I can't help you. And try not to say anything you might regret," Patrick warns.  
Suddenly, everyone stands up. Patrick hastily stands me up before rising himself. I try to see what all the commotion is about, but I'm too short.  
"Introducing Lord Ares!" a deep voice announces. The crowd erupts into cheers and shouts. They all sit down.  
Ares, in his human form, scans the crowd. His eyes lock with mine, a shiver goes down my spine, and he smiles maliciously.  
"Gentlemen, Ladies, and other Beings; we have a guest!" Ares declares. He points to me; all eyes are on me again.  
"The not-so anchor, Diana Agatha Summers!"  
Everyone boos. Now usually if I got booed I would discretely run off the bathroom to cry. But when 100 monsters and demigods (give or take) are booing at you, crying isn't going to make the situation any better. I just stare Ares in the eyes, pursing my lip and not saying a thing. He frowns for a second but then turns away from my view.  
"Seems like she is getting tougher! Instead of escaping her problems by killing herself, she is actually deciding to face them!" Ares cries out in a sinister happiness. He turns back to me.  
"Come down here, girl," He calls. Patrick lifts me down carefully with his magic. As soon as I land in the pit, I gasp. Ares moves so quickly that I can't do anything. He lifts me up by my chin/under face and looks me in the eyes. I try my best to look passive.  
"And I heard that you contacted your friends?" Ares inquires. He smirks. "I have a... Special punishment. But first, let's show everyone just how loyal your brother is!"  
I feel a sudden breeze across my back, the air stings my cuts and I try hard not to cry. Ares laugh echoes, and everyone else's. I quickly cover my chest with my arms, bringing my legs up to hug. My hair gets loose of the bun it was in, allowing me to cover up with that (like a mermaid from mature movies). I look up to Patrick with begging eyes. What I see surprises me so bad that it isn't until Ares talks again that I can focus on something other than the tear rolling down Pat's face.  
"What do you think the punishment shall be?" Ares calls, as if hosting a TV show. I can't hear any English but I do catch some Greek.  
"Death"  
"Rape"  
"Peel off her back"  
"Shock torture"  
Some monsters snarl, grunt and moan. Apparently Ares can speak monster. The whole pit goes silent.  
I don't feel the first whip; I hear it. I hear my skin reopening, the spiked end of it coming down on my neck. I then realize that Ares is using a cattail. There’s nothing I can do but take the abuse. So with my sock in my mouth and positive thoughts in my head, I take all that Ares has to dish out. I don't even flinch when he picks me up by my arms, letting the blood flow down my back.  
"Diana, do you have anything to say for yourself?" he calmly asks. I look at him through the parts in my hair.  
"You can't break me," I hoarsely proclaim.  
He smirks.  
"If I can't, then your Fate will."  
Ares throws me to the floor.  
"Assistants! Take her to the dungeon!" he bellows. I am too weak to get up. The last thing I see and hear is Patrick rushing to the edge, shouting in protest and his tear-stricken face looking at me with regret.


	11. Power and Pain

Joselyn’s POV

We finally have the army made up. It is made up mostly of all demigods who are 14 and above, of different skills and parentage. Everyone is meeting in the training area today, and it is going to be hell. Eva, Sandra and I have to make sure our groups are all here and know their jobs. I make my way through the huge group, up to the podium, get the crumpled piece of paper that is my group list, and clear my throat.  
"All right fudge nuggets, line up!" I yell to my group. They all obey very quickly; I smile in satisfaction.  
"Tell me your name and job, I will see if you are correct, then you may go join Kacey for information session-just so that everyone is on the same page."  
A guy with a round face, fair skin, sort of muscular but also skinny strides up confidently to me. He flips his dirty blonde hair, does an awkwardly seductive facial expression before speaking.  
"Justin Frank, Son of Athena. My job is Strategist and to help out with rescuing Diana from wherever they are keeping her." He introduces himself. Checking my list, I find him correct.  
"Good. NEXT!"  
And it goes on. The only other person I recognize is Ginnifer Stroud. She hugs me before twitting off to Kacey's area. I go through all 50 people with only having one mistake! (They weren't told their job)  
Kacey eyes everyone then turns to a whiteboard with drawings on it.  
"So, here is the plan: The Scouting group is going to follow Patrick's car to his house, where he is keeping Diana. Then she will send out a signal. On that signal, the people who have the job as 'distraction' will raid the house. If you find Martin, don't harm him. Then once his army is preoccupied, Joselyn, Eva, Sandra, Justin, Reilly, and Ginnifer will go retrieve Diana. Ginnifer will also give the leaving signal," Kacey explains. "Any questions, ask our Head of Strategy, Justin Frank."  
Everyone turns to look at Justin; he looks awkwardly back at us.  
"Yo," he says. Everyone slowly returns to sitting straight forward.  
"Now, girls I will warn you; Diana has obviously been in poor care and probably doesn't like or want to be touched. Only sedate her if absolutely necessary. You may harm or seriously injure whomever you like but don't kill them. Also, everyone, do not harm Wanda Summers or any mortals."  
Darn! I was so hoping on getting my hands on Ugene...  
"You may train now. Any questions about strategy, ask Justin," with that, Kacey simply disappears into thin air.

The training is to be instructed by Eva, Sandra and I. Eva is assigned to teach Combat with a weapon, Sandra is assigned to teach Skillship, and I get the lucky job of teaching people how to unlock new powers/ Combat with their powers. My class is held at the opening in the forest.  
When I arrive, I can still see the drag marks on the ground from when Diana was attacked. I quickly get rid of the mark in the dirt with my shoe before I can get pissed off.  
"Miss Hunt?" I hear a voice call. I whip around to be met by my class.  
"Don't call me that!" I bark at the girl who spoke. They all look scared, so I try a different approach.  
"Sorry, I swear my bark is bigger than my bite." I gesture to the opening "find a partner and a spot for you."  
I first get them to demonstrate what powers they do know how to use. That part was simple. The second part is hard to explain.  
"Good!" I tell my class. I sit on the tree stump, the class all on the ground looking up at me, and try to think of a way to explain how to extend their powers forcefully.  
"Usually you get new powers by luck, the gods/Fates decide to give it at the very last second, or the most unlikely to work, by force. Another, the most rare way out there, is if a god blesses you with a certain power. The god could be your parent, or one that seems to like you enough/sees something in you," I slowly and choppily explain.  
One of the demigods raises their hand. I nod towards them, hoping they get the message.  
"Hi, Tyrone Stoll here. Just wondering, you sound as if speaking from experience."

"Come my little Joselyn! It's time for supper!" I hear my mother call from downstairs. I stop playing with Shelby, my mixed breed dog, and skip downstairs. Shelby of course follows, constantly sniffing the air and looking around. Being only 9, I only think she is just curious.  
Once at the bottom I am greeted by the smell of mom's homemade jambalaya and beans. It only makes my mood even peppier, and I rush to the table.  
"How was work today?" I ask mom, as I do every day. My mom doesn't even look at me.  
"It was better," she walks over with the large pot. I go to grab the ladle but mom pulls the bowl away. "Ah, ah aahhh. What do you say if daddy ever shows up in the store one day?”  
I roll my eyes and sigh heavily; she makes me say it every night!  
"Go to hell where you belong," I monotonously repeat. I glance up at mom to find that she has a mischievous smile about her. I dismiss it and enjoy my jambalaya.  
The next day, I go through the regular routine. Eat breakfast, go to school (the one for people with 'special gifts' Aka the messed in the head ones) return home, help mom make jewelry, do homework, eat then bed. Same routine I have done for 5 years. At first, I didn't mind. Now, it's boring; I could probably do it in my sleep! But I keep doing the same routine because it's the only thing I have known to do.  
The school day goes by as it usually does: I get the ADHD aptitude test done, they give me some pills, I get escorted to my classroom, I try not to get too unfocused, and by the end of the day I get in trouble for the pills not working. They don't know why though.  
When I get home today after another session with my ADHD supervisor, I sense something wrong. I quickly enter the jewelry store, fumbling with the keys due to nerves. When I first get into the shop I don't notice anything wrong. That is, until I hear my mom scream.  
"Mommy?!" I yell.  
Suddenly, I get body checked by some big fat dude. I go flying towards the emerald necklaces and crack the glass of their case. The guy grabs my feet before I can even fully register what's happening.  
"Who are you?!" I yell when I'm airborne. I crash into the cash register (something I don't recommend).  
"GIVE ME YOUR MONEY!" He bellows. I hear his thumping footsteps stomp towards me. I grab the closest thing I can- a pen, and jab it into a random place. Lucky for me that random place ends up being his eye. He screams out in pain, stumbles over his huge feet, crashes into a case of diamond statues. He doesn't get up.  
Once I gain my vision and balance back, I bolt to the storage room, the place my mom’s scream came from. I don't bother watching my step when I walk- my combat boots crush the glass- but I do have to be careful about the shards of wood sticking out at me. When I enter the room, I scream. No one deserves to see their mother writhing in pain due to a stabbing.  
"Joselyn.....!" She exclaims before coughing up some blood. "Sweety, come here," mom says while gesturing with her hand. I feel my eyes burn with tears.  
"I'm going to send you off to my friends house, ok?" She croaks.  
I start shaking my head.  
"No, no no no no no no NO!" the tears race down my face, and I feel a lump in my throat.  
"Yes, dear. Joselyn baby, I love you."  
"I love you too," I hoarsely say. Her hand goes slack and she closes her eyes.  
"NO!" I scream. I grab her hand.  
"Give her back! Give her back NOW!" I scream up to the sky, not really sure who to.  
"GIVE...... HER..... BACK!" I scream.  
Suddenly, I see a floating light above her chest. Realizing what it is, I reach out to grab it; I can surprisingly grasp it. It fights against me, wanting to leave but I manage to keep it from flying away. With tears in my eyes, sweat trickling on my face, and a determined facial expression, I yank my mom's soul down so it re-emerges with her. I carefully take the knife out.  
"Police!" I hear someone shout.  
"BACK ROOM!" I yell. I toss the knife towards the other side of the room. I hear my mother gasp and then start coughing. The police storm in with some paramedics and the next two minutes are blur. The only thought I have is:  
I just saved my mother from dying....

"Josie! Josie?!" I hear a male voice above my face. I have a splitting headache, worse than when I got injected with the HPV vaccine, my stomach hurts, and I am covered in dirt. I blink, the light blinding me a bit.  
"Josie?" I hear Ammon say.  
I didn't know he was in my group.  
"What happened?" I ask in wonder, starting to sit up.  
"Well, Tyrone Stoll said that you seem to be speaking from experience. You then collapsed to the ground. One of my brothers who are in the class ran to get help and I was the first one he saw," Ammon explains.  
"Sorry, flashback hit me real hard," I say, my voice almost failing me. I get back my composure and stand up as if nothing happened.  
"Yes Tyrone, I do have experience with forcing a power out of myself. When I was nine-" and I tell them the story. The class all looks at me with awe, not one soul isn't speechless.  
"Of course, I have only done it once. Believe me, I have tried to do that before but it hasn't worked yet. I believe that for the Big Three children, you have to be very emotional at the time." I conclude. They stare at me in shock and awe.  
"You all can go try," I awkwardly say. They snap out of it and get to work.

Diana’s POV

My back aches. My head feels as if Ajax is hitting it with a hammer. My muscles are way too tense to be healthy. I'm shirtless with a stinging, bloody, and generally uncomfortable back. I can just breathe. My bones ache and feel like rusted metal of a machine trying to work. But that's only half of my problems.  
I might not ever see my friends again! I have no clue where I am, who else is in this room (if I'm even in a room) or what people/things watching over me. I don't know how long I have been unconscious but I feel like it is suppertime. I picture Ugene's reaction to hear the news of my whipping, Wanda’s face, Martin silently crying to himself.  
Footsteps bring me out of my thoughts.  
"Are yer up yet?" a gruff male voice asks. I clear my throat.  
"Y-y-y-yeah" I stammer. It’s cold in here.  
"The boss has requested your presence." the guy states.  
"Why would he want that?" I ask, attempting to build confidence.  
I hear him chuckle.  
"The boss sees potential in you," he simply says. I scoff.  
"Potential in someone who admits defeat when in a fight?" I wager. The guy is silent for a moment.  
"No SHE sees potential in someone who stood up for herself and others. She sees someone who looked a god in the eyes and said 'you can't break me'. She sees that you have a kind heart that will never stop fighting against who you think is bad. But best of all, she sees someone who knows when to pick the battles and when to save it for another time."  
There is a pause.  
"Do you know who I am?" he asks.  
"N-n-n-no," I shiver. The guy chuckles.  
"Wait, you said SHE," I come to realize. A little dumbfounded, I say "I thought Ares was a man?!"  
Another pause.  
"Yes Ares is a man, but Hecate isn't."  
Patrick steps out of the shadows. I gasp. Patrick's black magic leaves his throat, he tosses me a men's 2X shirt, and walks over to the crumpled up heap that is me.  
"Go on, put the shirt on. It's the best I can do on such short notice," He says nonchalant.  
"How did you.... Why are you..... But you.....?" I stammer, questions abuzz in my mind. Patrick rolls his eyes.  
"I can't disobey my own mother and I do in fact have SOME sympathy and mercy for you," he lifts me up by my forearms, helps me put the huge shirt on, and holds my arms as I stumble towards the portal.  
"Just saying, you are walking like a drunk flamingo," Pat comments.  
"I'm like this because YOU brought me to the meeting. YOU won't give me any Nectar or Ambrosia. YOU won't let me go back to Camp Half Blood," I angrily point out. "YOU have only showed mercy when I am too beaten to do anything but take that shit delivered to me!"  
With that, I collapse to the ground, my legs giving out. I feel a few tears slip out; Patrick kneels down next to me.  
"That is true but I am to follow Ares orders. The only reason I would go against Ares would be if my mother wanted me to."  
He slips an arm under my legs and one near my back, picking me up bridal style. He walks through the portal.  
The new room is like the throne room one would see in an old fashion castle. Sitting in the throne is a lady in a long, majestic black dress. She has hair that looks like gold, a pale complexion and has two torches by her throne.  
"Ah, Patrick... I see you have brought me the one of the prophecy." Hecate observes. "A bit beaten but that can be repaired. Please, son, let me and my almost step-granddaughter speak!"  
Patrick magics up a lazy-boy chair to sit in and places me carefully in it before leaving.  
"Why do you want to speak to me?" I ask. I shift so that I am seated comfortably reclining. Hecate regards me with a peaked interest and curiosity.  
"I, Goddess Hecate, give Diana Agatha Summers the blessing of Magic!"  
A purple veil wraps around me, shimmering and moving, raking up and down my body. As it does this, I start to feel lighter and more powerful.  
"What was that?" I ask, seriously confused.  
"I reward you with my blessing because you attempted to do magic. And because you defeated Ares, you have so much potential, as well as a spark," Hecate says. "Although, I can only bless you for so long. You have 4 months to prove to me that you truly deserve magic. Careful Casting!"  
With that, Patrick re-enters the room.  
"Patrick shall train you in the art of magic. We told Pearson High that Pat is pulling you out to do homeschooling because of the bullying going on. You won't HAVE to take the ADHD/Dyslexia medication unless you want to."  
"Oh, and one more thing," Hecate adds. A little slip of paper suddenly pops out of thin air and lands on my lap. "If you want clean, right-sized clothes all you have to do is recite this spell."  
I look down at the salmon colored paper. When I look up, she is gone, leaving only Patrick and myself in the room. I turn towards him.  
"Whose side do you play on Patrick? First you were undercover, pretending to like my mom who was really my aunt, then you were good to me whilst Ugene tormented me, then you were against me, and in the pit you were neutral, and now you are going to help me?" I go from my regular tone to a more pissed off, faster tone. I struggle to stand up, and find Patrick smiling as he helps me out of the recliner.  
"We better return home. Everyone is anxious to see you," He says simply after a long pause, "Especially Martin. He's been, er, signing to see you. As well as Nathan, Buzz, Avery, Lucas and Marie. I will warn you, when we go back to the house I will put you back into that drugged state of mind."  
He didn't answer my question... I let it go and recite the spell. The top Hecate picked out has a zipper down the back, is a violet medium sleeved shirt with a pair of teal leggings. I hastily swap out my clothes, braid my hair, and let Patrick carry me through another portal. The room we enter is mom's laboratory. My mom is there when we enter. She doesn't hear us at first until I cough. Mom spins around, test tube in hand. She places it on the counter and rushes over.  
"Diana! Oh my sweet baby girl!" she exclaims as if I really AM a baby. Patrick sets me down on the metal bed, my mom unzips the zipper at the back of my shirt, and I hear the slight wisps of whispering. They apparently come to a conclusion, and both approach me. Patrick stops at me but then moves over to the counter of test tubes, beakers, and various liquids. My mom offers a comforting hand on my upper arm.  
"Diana we are going to try to help your back okay sweetie?" she informs me as if I am a child. "Did you want someone in here with you?" she asks.  
I nod.  
"Marie, Buzz and Nathan," I answer. I actually don't know why I want Buzz in here with me...  
My mom runs upstairs, returning soon with those whom I requested. Marie and Nathan are in front of me in two seconds flat whereas Buzz doesn't appear in my vision.  
"Mind if I help?" Buzz asks. I feel everyone's eyes on me so I just shake my head.  
"I don't mind," my voice suddenly has gotten smaller, more mouse-like. Nathan holds my right hand whilst Marie holds my left. I can't bear to look them straight in the eye.  
A cold, slimy cloth gets placed on my back. I lurch forward, partially surprised, partially due to the pain, and groan in frustration. I don't want to start screaming again. I feel something go into my skin and tense up a bit.  
"Buzz, you could be a doctor with the way you handled that needle!" my mom exclaims.  
"NEEDLE?!" I yell.  
I suddenly feel very dizzy-not enough to faint but still dizzy. Nathan moves to look at my back; I hear him gasp.  
"Oh, Diana..." he sighs and sounds like he is on the verge of tears.  
Marie squeezes my hands to let me know she's here. I try to get off the table, hoping to escape from the searing hot pain in my back, but Marie pushes me back onto the metal seat from hell.  
"Diana, if you get through this without trying to get away, I will fight for you when your friends come," Marie whispers in my ear. Nathan comes around to stand next to Marie.  
"I will fight for you too," He whispers. I look at him with a surprised expression.  
"What? How do you...?"  
He smiles.  
"I am a demigod as well," he tells me. I look at them both in surprise. Suddenly a ferociously hot sting courses through my back and I snatch the first thing I can find; unfortunate for Nathan's arm. He gasps in surprise at my strong grip. I let go even though my back still hurts immensely.  
"Who's your parent???" I whisper as best as I can.  
He laughs.  
"Diana, I am your boyfriend's half brother!"  
The look on my face must be priceless because Marie and Nathan chuckle.  
"Your friend is dating your boyfriend's half brother!"  
Suddenly a thought pops up into my head.  
"Why aren't you at Camp Half Blood?" I ask before screaming in pain. Tears burn in my eye sockets but I refuse to cry again.  
Nathan lifts up his pant leg; on his ankle are the faded white circles from the fortress.  
"Well tell you what; when my friends come rescue me, you both can come with us!" I say before unleashing another scream. Seriously, what are they doing?  
"Can we take Buzz?" Marie asks. "I don't want to leave him behind!"  
I look at her weird.  
"Buzz is a satyr!" Nathan tells me matter of fact like.  
I start feeling like my brain is congested. My vision goes a tad blurry, my legs feel like noodles and the hunger leaves my stomach.  
"Diana, are you okay?" Marie asks with concern. I nod, my head feeling like a sack of potatoes being supported by a straw.  
"Yes, just a little fuzzy," I say as clearly as I can. I slump forward an inch.  
"Okay, I have done all I can," my mom admits. "How about we only let family see her, hm?"  
I don't want my friends to leave but it's the doctor’s orders. Nathan, Buzz, Marie, Avery and Lucas (were they there the whole time?) all give me hugs before leaving.  
Martin enters as my friends exit. He runs over to me, bear hugs me as if I were the one thing keeping him alive. He then picks me up into a piggyback and we exit the Lab.  
"So, what should we do to kick Ares ass?" A random dude says.  
Oh right, the interpreter I think.  
"Watch your volume!" I whisper harshly, or as harsh as I can in my current state.  
Martin signs something.  
"I will also help you escape while escaping myself," the interpreter says. "You see Ugene kidnapped me too so I couldn't give them any information."  
I give him a kiss on the cheek.  
"And when we get back to Camp Half Blood, I give you my blessing to date Mark," I whisper as best I can. I feel Martin tense up a bit.  
"You do?" the interpreter says, kind of doubtingly.  
"Was that you or Martin?" I ask. The interpreter doesn't say anything. Martin signs and suddenly the interpreter disappears. I gasp. Martin stops in my 'room' and places me gently down on the bed. He grabs a pen and paper from my school binder, jots something down, and then hands it to me.  
The interpreter is a magical creation from Patrick. I can summon it when I please. It only says what I sign.  
I look up at Martin. He jots something else down then hands it to me.  
You better get some rest. Sleep is good for rejuvenating after getting whipped-trust me I know- and I love you. -Martin.  
When I look up, Martin picks me up and places me under the blankets. He tucks me in- but first giving me some pajamas and letting me change- before giving me a kiss good night. Just as he goes to leave, I grab his hand.  
"Please don't leave!" I beg desperately "I'm not tired!"  
I manage to hold down a yawn but Martin catches the intake of breath I do in order to hold it in. He writes down something on a piece of paper.  
Sleep is best............ And I know you are lying.  
"Please don't leave," I say a bit more defeated. He gives me a look of sympathy before opening up the covers. He climbs in beside me, but not without silently asking for permission. I let him climb in, feeling most safe with a loving brother near. I turn and cuddle up to him.  
"I don't want to sleep," I yawn. Martin looks at me doubtingly.  
"I have nightmares," I say but soon find myself drifting off to sleep.

When I wake, Martin isn't in bed with me. I have a pounding headache, and my stomach feels as if it is crawling out of me. I quickly get up, knowing that the feeling is hunger, and grab the first food I see; a cute bowl grapes sitting on my bookshelf. The grapes please my stomach but do nothing for my headache. I collapse to the ground in with my hand to my head.  
"Dae? Are you okay?" Aelix asks. He is by my side, kneeling down. I didn't notice him, Eva, Sandra, Josie, a girl with a green mist around her hands, and two guys with blonde hair- one that I have seen before, the other not as familiar.  
"Who's Dae?" I ask even though I know the answer. The blond guy I haven't seen before walks over and places a hand on my head.  
"Uh oh," he says.  
Suddenly Aelix gets a pained expression. Eva, Joselyn, Sandra, the magic girl, and both blondie's eyes turn into ovals. I watch in horror as thorny vines shoot from my bellybutton and grasp a hold of my friend's necks. I can't control them; the vines have thorns which pierce their skin and they get tighter.  
I try to run to them but the closer I get, the more thorns shoot out of the vines.  
FRIENDSHIP IS THE WORSE TO SEVER a deep voice rumbles through the room.

I am woken up by both Ugene and Martin this time. I toss and turn a few times before they actually are able to wake me up. As soon as I see Ugene, I scream again and curl into Martin, shielding myself with the covers.  
"Please..." I whimper; I can feel myself shaking "I want to go home..."  
"This is your home sister, with Martin, Patrick, Mom and I. Tyler and everyone else left while you were in mom's lab so it's just us now," Ugene attempts to calm me down but it doesn't work.  
"Diana honey, get out of bed," Ugene commands. I don't comply. "Diana, out of bed. Now." He demands. When I don't comply again, Ugene rips off the covers. I jump over Martin, hoping to make a run for it but Ugene beats me to the stairs. I notice this too late and go crashing into him.  
"Good girl!" he congratulates. I squirm but it's no use; I'm not as strong as Ugene. "Now we are going to go up to my room and I will show you what happens when I don't get my way!" he says through clenched teeth.

By the time Ugene is done, I am so weak I can't even get up off the floor. I have been training in the forest with Marie but it didn't prepare me for the 1000 push ups Ugene made me do. Then it was 700 squats, 500 sit ups and 20 burpies. I expected him to beat me nearly to death so I gladly do what he says. The only thing keeping me going is that all this training will help when I have to finally face off with Ugene. I won't kill him but he will be put into solitary confinement. I am also going off of a bit of magic.  
I lay here in a sweaty heap, breathing fast and craving water. Ugene sits on his bed with his camera- he videotaped my workout for some reason- watching the video.  
"Ugene..." I breathe.  
"Oh, is sister tired?" he says in one of those sookie baby voices. I feel something get thrown at me. Upon contact I realize its grapes. Suddenly the drugs from earlier wear off, I feel as healthy as an ox, and all my strength is back.  
Weird, I think to myself.  
"Actually Ugene, I'm not tired." he looks up in dismay.  
"How did you...?"  
I walk away with all my strength and a new plan for how to stay sane.


	12. Fix the Broken

Eva’s POV  
"Okay, so now that everyone has their jobs, I think we are ready to venture off. Now, we have no clue what we are up against so be prepared for anything!" Kacey lectures. Joselyn, Sandra and I have been training our groups (with some assistance from our siblings) as well as train ourselves. I figured out that since the body is 70% made up of water, and being a daughter of Poseidon I can control 70% of a person. It freaked me out when I figured I could do this and I'm still a bit shocked. Joselyn is the most shocked, seeing that she is the one that only had 30% self control...  
"At noon, we head for Denver Colorado, Pearson High school. Everyone know what to do? If not, get the hell out of this meeting!" Kacey lectures. She scans the crowd with a skeptical eye before smiling.  
"Fight hard, any questions?"  
Justin Frank, whom now hangs out with us, raises his hand. Kacey nods.  
"Any tips?"  
"Don't die," Kacey says in a serious tone before cracking up. No one else laughs; she regains her composure.  
"Sorry. But, um, I don't really have any tips, but I do have some information. That's why you haven't been dismissed."  
Kacey fishes for something in her backpack (which is on her vacant wheelchair). Finding what she wants, Kacey opens up the crumpled piece of paper. She clears her throat.  
"Zeus will in fact let you fly there but not by plane. Wind spirits will take most of the army, the rest will teleport with our appointed teleporters and shadow travellers. You are not to kill anyone unless it's a monster or by defense. Once we get Diana we will leave-"  
Kacey gets interrupted.  
"What if she doesn't want to leave?" a girl in the back asks.  
Kacey tenses for a slight second.  
"She IS going to want to leave- trust me," Kacey turns to our group, known as the 'retrievers' made up of Josie, Sandra, Ginnifer, Justin, Reilly King and myself, "you guys know all the different scenarios and procedures for them?"  
We all nod. Kacey gives us a satisfactory smile.  
"Alright then. Anyway, Patrick will probably be our biggest competitor. He has the highest rank for a child of Hecate, according to his son Chris Nealson."  
"You can tell their rank and side by the color of magic they have. Black is the highest of the evil division and purple is the highest of the good people division," Ginnifer informs us.  
"Unfortunately, Patrick is in the evil division." Kacey continues. "And unfortunately there is only one Type of person, besides the gods, who can kill him SO DON'T EVEN TRY. You can hurt him ALMOST to death but not completely. Only a person with Purple magic can kill him, and we don't have any of those."  
Kacey let's that sink in.  
Black magic... I have heard something about black magic, to be aware of it? Well, yes but that's not it... Maybe a defense on if a Black Magic man attacks? Wait; beware of he whose magic is black! The prophecy!  
"THE PROPHECY!" Sandra, Joselyn and I all exclaim with such accuracy it stuns most people in the room.  
"Seek them out to save the dame; the 'them' is obviously the Summers and the dame is Diana," Sandra starts.  
"Take back what wasn't theirs to claim; Diana wasn't theirs to claim-you can't claim a human being!" Josie continues.  
"Beware of he whose magic is black; that’s obviously Patrick.  
For her fate shall surely attack; Diana is a daughter of Dionysus, and her fate, the fate of all Dionysus' children, will attack. I'm thinking Patrick will have something to do with this," I continue.  
"Hurry before you lose her forever; as in death or lose her in a worse way?" Josie questions.  
"Friendship is the worst to sever; meaning some friendship will be cut, and it will be a bad one," Sandra finishes.  
Dead silence follows- You could have heard a pin drop- before Kacey gets out her bullhorn.  
"That means we better get going! It tells us to hurry, so skedaddle! Go eat, meet at the top of Half Blood Hill in 2 hours!" Kacey commands. We all shuffle out in a timely matter.

For lunch, Nico has made Brick-Oven pizzas for everyone and oh my gods are they good! The 4 cheeses dance on my taste buds, igniting my senses and making them sharper. The tomato sauce has a tiny zip to it that can't be replicated by some cheap mortal. The crust is baked to perfection with a fifth cheese melted into it, adding to the Elysium that is Nico's pizza recipe. I can tell the others are equally satisfied by the moans and groans that come out from their mouths. Cole and Joselyn are whispering amongst themselves. Sandra is telling Ajax about how Gwen is going to start working at the infirmary. Ammon is beside me and although the others think we aren't doing anything, he is holding my hand under the table. Unfortunately he is only teleporting people- one in which is myself- to Denver Colorado.  
"I want you to be careful, okay?" he whispers in my ear.  
I look at him with my famous 'oh really?' look.  
"When have I not been careful?" I counter.  
"Just... If you get Dae and she lashes out cause of something Ugene has done to her... I don't want you getting hurt," He earnestly tells me.  
"So, Joselyn, Nico is going to be busy and we have your cabin all to our selves..." Cole's hair lights on fire (a sign he is excited in a special way). I smile evilly at Ammon.  
"Sorry Cole, we have quest stuff to do. Jokes on you!"  
I make all the water from campers water bottles rise up and dump on the son of Hephaestus. A lot of people laugh at him, especially our group. I take note that it is the first time I have seen Aelix laugh in the past month. Everyone else notices to, some even stopping to watch and listen to his laugh.  
"You just got TOLD!" Aelix exclaims. He abruptly stops laughing all of a sudden.  
"Wait, what quest?!" He asks. Joselyn and Sandra hastily get up from the table.  
"A quest for more pizza!" Josie announces with her best (fake) smile. She runs around to link arms with Sandra and me before towing us toward the Poseidon cabin. I knock on the door (something I now have to do with Percabeth at camp) before entering. Luckily it's empty.  
"So, do you guys agree we have to terminate that nasty piece of scum?" Josie quickly asks.  
"No!" Sandra and I exclaim in unison.  
"Diana already lost one brother; she doesn't need to lose another!" Sandra explains.  
"Then what else can we do?" Joselyn furiously slams her fist into a marble statue. She doesn't even blink a tear.  
"Is there a spell we could do? Something to change him?" I ponder out loud. I look to Sandra, then to Joselyn.  
"We could ask Ginnifer if there is a spell to change him." Sandra suggests.  
Suddenly, Joselyn grabs our wrists and the world goes black. When it comes back, I feel queasy as well as paranoid. Queasy because I don't shadow travel much and paranoid because we are now in the Hecate cabin.  
"A warning would have been nice Joselyn!" I tell her. Josie ignores me and marches right up to Ginnifer. The daughter of Hecate is currently reading a spell book labelled "The Witch in You" whilst lying on her bed. Joselyn clears her throat; Ginnifer looks up.  
"So how may I be of service?" she asks with a slight smile.  
"Do you know a spell that can change someone?" I ask hopefully.  
"Into...?"  
I shake my head.  
"No, not like that. Change them as in their personality," and I explain the whole thing with Ugene and why we don't want to kill him. Ginnifer listens intently and when I'm done, summons a big spell book.  
"There are two ways, the first one being preferable. A witch could either bind them/forbid them from doing anything, leading to the personality change. The second option is too hard; it involves a wizard/witch of high powers. The second option is a spell that basically let's you edit memories, but not delete them. The person can change people, change the setting, but never delete. This spell is almost irreversible." She teaches us.  
"So when we get Ugene, can you bind/ forbid him from doing anything bad?" Josie asks. Ginnifer nods excitingly.  
"Certainly! It'll be as easy as 123!" she exclaims excitedly.  
That’s one problem fixed. Now to fix Aelix...  
"Also, can you help fix someone mentally? Like make them less insane?" I ask, earning some confused glances from Eva and Sandra. Ginnifer smiles and it kind of reminds me of a cat but not an evil cat.  
"You are looking for something to help the Phillips boy?" she looks me in the eyes; I nod. "Alright, just let me grab some stuff and off to the Phobos Cabin we go!"

"Aelix? Aelix are you in here?" Ginnifer calls. She enters first, the rest of us right on her heels. Ginnifer is carrying a black mini cauldron with some ingredients in it to help with Aelix. We have no clue what any of them are, even after Ginnifer explained them to us.  
"Aelix is on his bed. He isn't allowed visitors." one of his siblings tells us. I start at him, but Ginnifer puts up her hand, signaling me to stop.  
"I have a job to do. Either move aside or I will make you," Ginnifer warns. The guy and she have a stare down and he eventually moves.  
"Thank you!" Ginnifer calls from Aelix's bed. We follow.  
Aelix is a lump in his covers. He is lying on his stomach, his hand caressing his pillow. His hair resembles a poodle's and he is apparently shirtless.  
"Dae's scent is still on my pillow..." Aelix tells us. Ginnifer is mixing her cauldron, a nice scent coming off of it. She waves her hand over the pillow; Aelix breathes in through his nose and his eyes light up.  
"Now it smells like her but a lot stronger!" he exclaims, digging his nose into the pillow. Ginnifer makes a syringe appear, sucks the potion into it, and using the distraction she inserts the syringe into his back. He doesn't even flinch! Unlike Dae... She would have murder screamed, started crying and then come to us for comfort. When Ginnifer takes it out, Aelix seems to relax more.  
"The urge to hunt her down will lessen, he won't try to run away and he will let others deal with it. He might have a headache for a few hours but other than that he will be fine. Oh, and if Dae does return, he will just go back to his normal self."  
Two out of three problems fixed. Now we just need to find Dae.

Diana’s POV  
For the past week, it has been 100% hardcore training 8 hours of the day with Patrick. Every morning I would be woken up by Ugene, get dressed for training, mom has applied cream to my back each morning so it's now close to just being scars (thanks to the Ares ambrosia Patrick put into it) then trained after Patrick sent a Mistborn as himself to teach at the school. He helped with the fighting, the magic, and with exercises. Over this week, I have made him think that I am on their side by doing whatever exercise he deemed appropriate, not contacting anyone outside the house, and even talking (made up) shit about them. Patrick so convinced that he is now letting me carry around a weapon! Although it's only my slingshot, it's a start. Since I have been good all week, Patrick is letting me go places on my own. It is now my job to pick up Ugene after school, or in his case, after detention. When he got back to school, they gave him an hour of detention for one day for doing what he did. I think its bullshit so I am going to that school tomorrow to straighten things out. I hate bullies and want to make them stop at PHS. But today it's just a pick up.  
When I get into the school, it's just as I suspected; everyone stares in awe, some whisper about me, and some don't dare to meet my eyes. I walk through the students on their free class and stride confidently up to the office. The receptionist doesn't even seem to care who I am or what happened.  
"I'm looking for Ugene Summers," I say with as much confidence I can. Suddenly, a blood curdling scream comes from down the hall. Students start screaming and panicking. Teachers direct them to go outside. I on the other hand run towards the sound. As I'm running I hear people blame me for whatever is happening.  
A roar emits from the classroom at the end of the hall. I grab a bow and some arrows as well as a fake sword from the gym storage. As soon as I touch the fake sword, it turns into a real one.  
"Cool," I mutter to myself. Whatever is in the classroom roars again, this time sounding pissed off. I bolt to the classroom. The first thing I see is the smoke, then the locked door. I don't hesitate to break down the door. A big group of students blindly run out, screaming and crying, some tripping over door debris. I charge in with my multiple weapons.  
The first thing I see is Marie, Nathan, and a scared looking Quincy and Lucas. Buzz is wielding a club, Marie has a makeup bag (what the Hades?) and Nathan is defending himself with his bare fists. Ugene is passed put behind the teacher’s desk. Oh yeah, and there are six things causing havoc. One tries to pants me, but I slice off its head before it even gets to touch me. Looking closer I see that it looks like Gollum from Lord of the Rings, except it has a beer belly, more warts, and its head is troll-like.  
"Diana!" Marie calls. Looking over, I see that she is currently being tied to a desk, and she looks like she has been shocked with a taser. Her makeup bag is spread out everywhere, and one of the creatures is playing with its contents. Suddenly, I feel hands slip to my waist. I kick blindly out behind me, hear a grunt, and the thing slides down off me.  
"That's a nice look..." Buzz says before whacking one of the THINGS in the head. I hastily pull up my basketball shorts, a hot sensation spreading across my cheeks.  
Think Diana, think! What's that freezing spell?  
Out of the corner of my eye, I see one of the things stagger towards Quincy and Lucas. It is holding a spider in one hand, a mirror in the other.  
"Hey! Wart face!" I call to it. The thing turns to face me, a mischievous glimmer in its eye. The spider and mirror get eaten by a black mist and turn into two needles.  
"Little girl, this will be fun! I love torturing demigods! Especially the children of Dionysus, with the Fate and all. So, what's the Daughter's Fate? Shall it be insanity? Drug addiction? Or alcohol addiction? Or a combination? How old are you?" it speaks with a voice that could make Hades have nightmares.  
"I'm seventeen, and I am not afraid of you!" I proclaim, though my voice betrays me by quivering a bit. I pull out two swords and point them in its direction.  
"Seventeen? The fate should have hit you by now!" it utters.  
Any time now, freezing spell!  
In the blink of an eye, my swords disappear! One of the things has stolen them, along with the rest of my weapons, leaving me defenceless. I back up into another one of the THINGS. It trips me, and ties me up as I fall. The one holding the needles laughs at my struggling.  
"Poor daughter of Dionysus... You are going to die a tragic death and the hands of a Kobaloi!" it, the Kobaloi, proclaims.  
"Do you want Ares on your ass? Cause I'm the most important part of his army. Kill me and you will have one pissed off God of War on your hands," I bargain. The Kobaloi only etches closer.  
"The gods aren't a threat to me," he shakes it off. He climbs up my legs, sits on my stomach, and lightly touches the end of one needle to my collar.  
"Ice here, ice there, spread ice everywhere!" I yell, finally remembering the spell. I breathe out, and instead of air, ice shoots out of my mouth. I point it to the remaining Kobalos, instantly freezing them. Everyone in the room looks at me with awe.  
"Diana... How did you do that?" Nathan asks in wonder. He is currently tied to the LCD projector on the ceiling.  
"After Ares whipped me, Hecate gave me her blessing. I can use it for a few months." I straight up tell him.  
"That... Is... AWESOME!" Buzz yells. He then gallops over.  
"Do something else!"  
I struggle in the ropes.  
"Perhaps if you get me out of these and help me get the others?" I suggest. Buzz uses a dagger to cut the ropes. He gallops over to Marie, leaving me with Nathan. I summon vines to shoot out of a plant on the teachers desk. I grab onto it Tarzan style and climb up to Nathan. Using a sword, I cut the ropes holding him and catch him with vines when he falls. He rubs his wrists whilst a blush spreads across his face.  
"Thanks," he calls. I gently set us on the ground; by this time Marie is charm speaking Lucas and Quincy. I approach them.  
"You guys saw six rabid coyotes enter. Animal control came and took them away." Marie says with so much conviction for a few seconds, I believe her. But then I shake it off and they unfortunately do too. Marie sighs in frustration.  
"Here, let me try something," I say, an idea popping into my head. (Meanwhile, Nathan and Buzz are smashing the Kobaloi statues). I close my eyes, putting myself in their shoes. I imagine the Kobalos as coyotes with rabies, stalking over to me, almost biting me but then Animal control coming in to save the day.  
"Aren't you scared? The coyote almost bit you!" Lucas quietly asks me. I shake my head 'yes'.  
"I'm glad Animal Control came; otherwise I would have to go to the emergency room! That's not the best way to see your mother..." I trail off. Quincy and Lucas chuckle a ghostly, half hearted chuckle.  
"What happened to Ugene?" Quincy asks. I find it weird to see her vulnerable like this; usually she is all rough and tough.  
"The coyote bit him. I will take him home to mother." I tell them before heading over to my brother. He is also tied up. His hair is all static-y and he looks... Shocked. I throw him over my shoulders in a piggy-back stance, linking his legs with mine and holding his wrists so his arms are around my neck. Ugene is surprisingly light. A few people give me odd looks in the parking lot- who wouldn't? - but I don't stop to offer an explanation. That is until...  
"Look, its Miss Scaredy pants, couldn't handle being checked out by guys, Diana Summers!" I hear one of the football players girlfriends call. I stop in my tracks, pivot, and march right up to where the voice came from.  
"What did you just say?" I demand.  
"Look, the faggot is actually talking to me!" She calls to her pack.  
"Can't you be a little sympathetic? There was a coyote attack!" One of the guys say. She has the nerve to approach me! I quickly run to the car Patrick 'bought' (he actually magic'd up a car, claiming to have paid for it), set Ugene down in the back, grab a hair elastic, then sprint back after tying my hair up.  
"Did the lesbo run away scared?" she taunts in a baby voice. I laugh menacingly.  
"You think I'm a lesbian? Come here and let me prove it to you!" I call.  
"Ew, you're probably going to kiss me! But whatever, I know where I stand." she struts out of the crowd, into the clearing in the parking lot. She opens her mouth to say something, but before she can, I turn my back to her.  
"Turning away to hide your fat ass, faggot face?"  
I turn at an inhumanly rate and swiftly punch her in the face.  
"You don't know someone's sexuality until they tell you." I growl. The girl gets a taste of my dirty, muddy sneaker. She looks up at me with such hatred it is almost funny. I then knee her in the stomach. The girl collapses to the ground, snapping her stiletto heel.  
"I am stronger than you think," I growl.  
"SPLIT IT UP!" the principal yells. He parts the crowd of students faster than Moses parting the Red Sea. A tiny pool of blood is on the pavement, its source being the girl's bloody nose.  
"Gretchen, take Stacey to the nurse please," he orders one of the girl's friends. The principal turns to me. Up until this moment, I haven't seen or met the principal. He is of African American decent, wears a suit, and has a think black mustache. He is 5ft 3 in, a bit shorter than me.  
"And you are?"  
"Diana Summers," Daniel answers for me with a smug smile.  
The principal twirls his mustache.  
"According to my records, you don't go here..." he slowly says. "Why did you punch Stacey?"  
"She was calling me a faggot," I tell him straight up. Homophobia seriously ticks me off, even before I knew about Martin. No should be treated differently because of something they can't control or change.  
"Do you have witnesses?" he asks. Suddenly the crowd becomes severely quiet.  
"Yeah, they all witnessed it!" I exclaim while gesturing to the crowd although no one seems to have the urge to stand up for me.  
"She doesn't even go here!" Daniel calls. I glare at him.  
"No witnesses?" the principal says. "Since you don't go here, I have to call the police..."  
I ignore him.  
"Come on! You ALL just witnessed bullying and NONE of you are going to stand up for me? The bullied? This is one of the reasons I dropped out of this hell hole; I am one of the few people who will stand up to people like Stacey! That's pretty bad for a school of 1300! All you people are bystanders, which is almost as bad as the bully! All of you had the chance to say 'no that's not right' but did you take it? NO! Why didn't you? Is it because you are scared of people like Stacey, scared of getting victimized yourself? Scared of looking like a loser in front of everyone? There is strength in numbers, even if the soldiers aren't strong themselves. I bet a lot of you wanted to help but were to afraid to act upon that thought. Also, the fact that there is homophobia in the school? That's why Martin transferred to the 'Special School' isn't it? Not because he can't talk but because he got so much shit for being gay?!" I turn to the principal, who has been silent this whole time, surprisingly. "And you! Aren't you the one who disciplines people who are being bullies? You are supposed to make this school a safe and happy place for everyone. No matter creed, color, gender, sexuality, home life, and everything else. Well, you aren't doing a very good job! I just stood up for myself, and what do I get? ‘I’m going to call the cops'. That's bullshit, right there." with that, I storm off to my car, aware of the dead silence and a lot of eyes on my back. Now that I am done my big rant, I feel excited. Like a huge weight has been lifted off my chest. Back in New Jersey, I got bullied for my ADHD and Dyslexia, hence the school changes (granted that some of the school changes were because of monsters destroying the school). I have never stood up for myself like I did just now. It feels good to know I might have made someone's day. I might have changed life perspectives, who knows? I am confident and I am strong. With Ugene passed out in the back seat and a huge grin on my face, I drive to pick Martin up.

"Oh my goodness, what happened!" my mother exclaims when she comes home. Patrick has Ugene lying on the metal table in my mom's office and is currently stitching up a wound on his face. Ugene is still passed out cold, but he seems to be having a blissful sleep. There has been points where he seemed to be awake but it would go faster than it came. The one thing freaking me out is that when he screams in his sleep, it's usually my name. I help Patrick- mostly just checking Ugene's vitals, even though I am not as squeamish as I used to be- before my mom got home. She rushes in, not even noticing that Martin is gone. He asked me if he could go to a friend's house to study, and I said yes.  
"Wanda, he's ok!" Pat tells her.  
"He's freaking unconscious!" My mom half screams.  
"I'm aware," Patrick mumbles.  
"Is there any way we can wake him?" she asks desperately.  
Maybe, I can give a few pointers, get on their good sides. Maybe they will trust me enough so I can escape!  
"Did you try feeding him?" I ask. Both of them turn their focus on me.  
"He's unconscious; feeding him would choke and kill him!" my mother exclaims incredulously. I slowly get up from my chair and walk over. I grab some grapes and before they can protest, I squish and pour a bit of the juice onto Ugene's wound.  
"DIANA!" my mom screeches. I ignore her and pull out the thread from my brother's stitches.  
"Diana, I never thought I would have to say this but... You are-"  
Before she can finish, Ugene screams my name. He screams it as if I just tripped into Tartarus, and he is stuck at the top. After 5 seconds, his eyes flutter open.  
"Whaaat?" he moans. My mother and Patrick both gasp.  
"How did you..?" my mom starts but doesn't finish. She just stares in awe at what I just did. Of course she rushes to his side right away.  
"Hey Diana, may I speak with you... Outside?" Pat asks, a hint of confusion in his tone. I nod and step out of Wanda’s lab. Patrick follows but then grabs me by my upper arms and drags me downstairs into the living room.  
"What the hell?" Patrick growls. "What was that?!"  
I put my hands in my pockets nonchalantly and shrug.  
"What's wrong with helping my brother?" I ask innocently. Patrick glares at me skeptically.  
"I thought you didn't like him," he states.  
"Sure we don't get along, but don't most siblings fight?" I say with nonchalance.  
"Yeah, but most siblings don't have godly essence in them!" Pat chuckles incredulously.  
"Wait, what?"  
Patrick suddenly looks horrified.  
"Oh shit, I forgot that you didn't know!" he starts to pace whilst face-palming himself.  
"Stupid, stupid, stupid!"  
"Patrick, what don't I know?"  
He stops mid-face palm.  
"Ugene also has Godly essence in him. From Ares. He got a larger dosage than Greg, which explains why he likes to torture you and feels good when you feel pain."  
I don't even try to hide my shock.  
"Is there any way to reverse it?" I ask in astonishment.  
Patrick shrugs.  
"If there is, I don't know what it is. Otherwise, I'd cure him."  
Suddenly a scream comes from upstairs.  
"DIANA!!!" I hear Ugene scream. Patrick grabs my upper arm and basically drags me to Wanda’s lab. Mom isn't there, and Ugene is up on his feet. He is sporting a pair of boxers, that’s it.  
"Ugene, where are your pants?" Patrick asks. Ugene looks at him in paranoia but then settles his glare on me. His face fills with love and compassion.  
"Thank you sister for healing me!" he exclaims joyously. Before I can even react, Ugene embraces me in a hug. I hesitate for a few seconds before hugging back.  
"I love you sister..." he cries into my shoulder. He picks me up, forcing me to have to hang on by wrapping my legs around him and pulling myself closer. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Patrick backing up. Ugene walks out of the room in a hurry, though I don't know why.  
"Ugene...?"  
I feel him lower me onto a soft surface, most likely a bed, and he climbs on top of me.  
"Ugene, get off me... NOW." I try to keep calm but my voice slips up.  
"I really love you..." Ugene whispers.  
"PATRICK! WANDA! MARIE!" I scream, but am soon muffled by a cloth being stuffed in my mouth. Ugene slips an arm underneath the top of my thighs, the other supporting my back as he slides us closer to the headboard. I try to scream again but the cloth only muffles the sound. Hot tears spring out of my eyes.  
"Sister, don't scream now. Save your voice for later!"  
He grabs something from his bedside table- some rope- and ties my wrists to the headboard. After he has secured them, my brother thankfully puts on some pants. He fishes into his the drawer and swears softly.  
"One second," he whispers. Ugene crawls off the bed and stalks out of the room.  
As soon as he is out of sight, I bring my feet to my face, pull out the cloth (which ends up being one of Ugene's socks) and get into a sitting position. I concentrate hard; vines grow out of a pot in Ugene's room and I use the thorns to cut the ropes. I bolt out of his room, running into someone.  
"Diana! Get back into the room!" Ugene growls.  
"No! Ugene, that is disgusting and I deserve better!" I try to get up but find that Ugene landed on my legs. He takes this advantage to crawl on top of me again. He pinches a certain spot on my neck; suddenly I can't move anything below my shoulders.  
"Ugene, why?" I don't cry. Instead, my mind fills with dread.  
"Because I believe my sister needs a release," Ugene whispers. He gets off of me, picks me up, and sets me down on his bed, this time on my stomach. He redoes the bindings even though I can't move. Ugene leaves then returns with... A cart?  
He's going to torture me again, I think.  
"Now sister, before you come to any conclusions, I would like to let you know that what I'm going to do right now will not harm you," Ugene calmly says.  
"You're just saying that to psych me out." I mumble. I feel him straddle my waist and I close my eyes to prepare for the worst. As I suspect, Ugene cuts off my shirt, revealing the multiple scars from both whipping sessions. Ugene places his hands on my back; I yelp in surprise. Then Ugene does something totally unexpected. I feel his hands press into my back and they run across, almost searching.  
"You have a lot of tension in your back, a lot of knots." he starts pressing and rubbing his hands in such a soothing way, I can't help but relax.  
"Diana, I would never intentionally hurt you," Ugene softly says.  
"That explains the whip marks..." I sarcastically say.  
He starts massaging my lower back, getting in all the right places. I hate it.  
"You're so skinny..." he mumbles. I scoff.  
"Yeah, because you guys don't feed me often," I counter. He slips his hands under me, to my stomach, feeling it. His touch feels weird and he takes a second to feel around. Ugene grabs something from his cart. I feel metal and some plastic on my back.  
"Are you feeling okay?" he asks earnestly.  
"Just peachy," I sarcastically answer.  
"What would make you feel better?" he asks. I can feel my brother fiddle with something but I don't know what.  
"To be back at Camp Half Blood," I honestly answer.  
Ugene chuckles.  
"Other than that," I can practically feel the hurt in his voice.  
"It would be awesome if you stopped attacking me in the morning to give the medication to me- I'll take it willingly- you could stop treating me like a punching bag, give me freedom will with some limitations. You know, if I'm going to be stuck in this Hell, you might want to treat me better." I suggest. Ugene has multiple stuff on my back now.  
"Ugene, what are you doing?" I question.  
"I'm going to help you relax. It's a potion Patrick taught me, you know for handling my rage. I haven't had it since June," that's almost four months he has gone without it "and I think it will help you relax."  
Ugene pours something all over my back. He rubs the stuff in; I can feel it relaxing my muscles. Ugene starts massaging my back again, not noticing how I have undone the rope binding my wrists. He seriously needs to work on his knots!  
"How about, starting tomorrow, you go to school. We won't change your eating until you have proven that you aren't a threat to us, and we could change our relationship." Ugene quietly suggests.  
"I'd like that," I tell him. As if I have been body checked, I have control over all my limbs again. Ugene knows this and stops the massage. He gets off of me and goes over to the bathroom. I grab one of Ugene's shirts (though on me it's a mini dress), and tidy up myself. Ugene saunters back into the room, puts something down on the cart and without giving me a heads up, bear hugs me. I can feel him tense up; he squeezes harder, his breathing changes, he deepens the hug, and places something against my back.  
"Or..." he growls, now panting "I can keep my punching bag and we will all be good!"  
I feel a sharp pain erupt from the back of my thigh. I bend my left leg, electric pain shooting from my left thigh.  
"Ugene?"  
He drops me, his body shaking. I reach to the back of my thigh to find an oyster knife there.  
"PATRICK! WANDA!" I yell. Soon Patrick is at the door, multiple scratch marks all over his skin, his clothes are shredded, and his glasses are upside-down. He waves his hands in an arc, causing black magic to float towards Ugene. My brother falls to the ground passed out. Patrick leaps over him to me and helps me to my feet. We walk- I hobble, Pat supports most of my weight- down a hall, up some stairs, and back into Wanda’s lab. She is there now and she looks shaken. Pat helps me up onto the table.  
"It was doing fine, I mean he was treating me with respect, for the most part, and then all of a sudden he hugs and stabs me!" I quickly tell my guardians. Wanda gives a slip of paper to Patrick before heading upstairs.  
"Ugene is going to be sent to some Apollo kids on Ares side to be fixed up. Usually Ares changes Ugene's personality whenever he really needs to, but this? This never happens!" Patrick breathlessly utters.  
"Your mom wants me to fix your leg," Patrick states after a long pause. I hiss in pain as Patrick pulls out the knife, and I start tearing up when he stitches my thigh up. I won't be able to walk without crutches (due to the nerve and muscle damage) and Pat is sending me back to school tomorrow.  
"What?" I exclaim after he tells me.  
"It's just... I am actually going to be busy in the next week so I'm sending you to school. You tell them that you want to start a new without your brother there to torture you." Patrick orders. "I will change your courses so that half of them are gym credits, the other half actual mortal stuff. You can help change the school, especially with Ugene out for the count; he was the biggest dictator there and everyone was afraid of him. You can show them that no matter how many times they knock you down, you will always get up stronger each time! You can continue your good reputation."  
"My reputation is broken: I'm probably known as the school crazy after the speech I gave," I inform him. He smiles.  
"That's an easy fix." and with that he leaves the room.  
How can you fix something that's totally broken? I think after he leaves. But my mind isn't on my reputation.


	13. Interactions

Dae’s POV

Everyone stares at me as I walk (with my crutches) down the corridor to my locker. Some whisper, others don't make eye contact, and the rest are awestruck. Nobody talks TO me except Nathan, Marie, Buzz, Lucas, and Ella. Ella even opens my locker.  
"Can I talk to you?" Ella asks. I nod after getting all of my stuff from my locker (I can't participate in gym today so I am bringing a book) and Ella leads me into the council lounge.  
"Your speech that you made.... It really impacted a lot of people. All of the people who have ever been bullied stepped forward and demanded change. The scary part? There was too many to count! All of the bullies got an in-school suspension, the bullied people made a group called Changing Our School that is all about anti-bullying," Ella looks around before resetting her focus on me "And you even helped Lucas a bit with his anorexia! He ate a full bowl of oatmeal this morning!"  
Ella almost crushes me in a hug. I made all THAT happen?! I think to myself in awe. Maybe I can make a difference.  
An alarm goes off, signaling that there is only 5 minutes to get to class. Ella stops me from going out into the hall.  
"Just a warning buddy, the COS group, like, worships you," she warns.  
Did she just call me buddy? And I’m a bit scared about the whole COS group ‘worshipping’ me.  
When I get out into the corridor, a pack of students is there to greet me. One girl steps forward.  
"Hi, we are from the COS club. We thought it was awesome the way you stood up to Stacey and would all like to give you hug!"  
Without warning, I go from savior to sandwiched. The group of about 50 people all join in for a group hug around me. I end up actually dropping my crutches due to the squishiness of the group.  
"Can you please be our leader!" one asks. Once the group parts. I hesitate for the words.  
"I got to go to class, but I'll think about it!" I say, procrastinating my answer. They seem to accept it and go off to their business. All except one.  
"I thought it was really cool how you speak your mind..." the guy says. He bends over to pick up my crutches, handing them to me with a gleam in his eyes. He looks like he is in grade eleven, has short brown hair, and is evenly toned, with green puppy dog eyes. Hear wears a grey under armor hoodie and some skinny jeans.  
"Thanks," I awkwardly say. He stretches out a hand.  
"I'm Everett." he says, trying to meet my gaze. I look him up and down before stretching out my hand.  
"Diana," I say. He chuckles.  
"I know." there is an awkward pause. "So may I escort you to your next class?"  
I struggle while bending down to pick up my bag. Everett immediately helps by passing me my bag.  
"Why should I let you do that?" I teasingly ask.  
"Well, I wouldn't want you falling and hurting yourself!" he says matter of factly. I feel heat spreading in my cheeks. I jump when the second bell goes.  
"Oh shit!" I exclaim. Everett chuckles again.  
"We have to get to class!" I inform him before scrambling towards the gym. I get my crutch caught in a vending machine by surprise and drop to the ground. Just before I hit the ground, Everett catches me. He pulls me up slowly, pressing his nose to mine.  
"That was close," he breathes. His eyes close. I know where this is going; I push him away before he can kiss me.  
"Sorry, I have a boyfriend," I quickly tell him. I pick up the second crutch and scurry off to class. Everett pauses for a second before catching up.  
"Sorry, was I going too fast?" he asks. I shake it off.  
"Uh, I and my boyfriend haven't even kissed!" I lie, but only to get him away. He grabs my waist firmly.  
"No we haven't," he lustfully groans. I hit him in the side with my crutch before he can try anything. Without seeing if he is okay, I hobble into the gym.

The Phys. Ed. teacher excuses my tardiness saying that I'm still new to the school and am on crutches so it's okay. The class today is going to do basic strength training so we go into the weight room. Avery is in my class and upon hearing that I will be participating, got my gym clothes for me. (I can't read my book...) I thank her immensely after changing. The teacher helps me to the arm workout area. He passes out sheets of paper containing what our strength assignment is. Since it is Late October, and I wasn't here for some of the term, he gives me the first training the class has done.  
10 chin ups  
5 minute stretch  
50 crunches  
3 minute stretch  
30 Torso twists  
5 minute break  
and then repeat but add 5 to the workout portions. Like I did with Ugene's workout, I use magic to keep me going, and when no one is watching, I grow then pluck a grape from my hair. One tiny grape give me so much energy, it doesn't seem humanly possible. Then again, I'm not exactly human... And some people are starting to notice. Most of the people in my gym class are guys who are straight, so of course they are watching me. I know at least two guys who have noticed. They both get off their work out machines and walk over to where I am doing 30 chin ups.  
"So, you aren't dead yet," one of them states.  
"Yeah?" number 24 "So?" number 25.  
"Someone with your frame and um, body shouldn't be able to do that many! Aren't you sore?" the other says. Number 27.  
"I work out at home; this is only slightly challenging," I half lie. It is challenging especially due to my workout and using magic so I can stay functioning.  
"Well, you can work me out anytime you want," the first guy smoothly tries to seduce me. Number 30. I jump off the bar to stretch, being careful of my injury. After grabbing a crutch to support the right side, I reach to the right and then to the left quickly before bending to reach my toes.  
"That won't be necessary, but thanks for the offer," I say as nicely as I can.  
"You got TOLD!" a guy near us says. A bunch of guys snicker at him.  
"Back to work!" The gym teacher calls. Avery- the only other girl in the class- gestures for me to come over to the treadmill she is running on.  
"You are starting to rebuild your reputation!" She congratulates.  
"And what reputation is that?"  
Avery smiles.  
"The 'you can't touch this' reputation. That's my reputation."  
She winks at me.  
"What if I don't want that type of reputation?" I slowly say, hoping not to offend her.  
"Then you should work on how you interact with people. Unless you want the slut rep. Or the sporty girl rep. Or the nerd rep. Funny thing is, our group of misfits all have different reputations!" Avery exclaims. My interest gets peaked.  
"Really? What are they?" I ask whilst sitting down, taking a break.  
"Ella has the 'straight A, sporty' reputation. Marie is the 'nerdy fangirl' reputation. Buzz is the 'badass punk who skips school and does weird tricks' reputation. Nathan is the 'charming smarty pants that plays sports'. Lucas has the 'shy, no one really knows much about him' reputation. Well, most people know about his anorexia and depression. Anyway, as for me, I am the 'badass girl whom no one lays a finger on'." Avery increases the speed on the treadmill.  
"Can you tell me more about Lucas?" I ask. She chuckles.  
"It's not my place to tell you that he has been admitted into the hospital 5 times in the past year."  
Did she just...?  
"Oh, okay sorry. I was just curious." I innocently say.  
"Well, why wouldn't you? A lot of people wonder why he wears long sleeve shirts in hot weather and only his friends know that it's to cover all of his self harming marks." Avery casually tells me.  
"Has anyone tried to help that isn't a professional?" I ask.  
"Yes, but only one person has made it better." Avery admits.  
"Who's that?"  
Avery stops the treadmill, grabs a towel, dabs her face and arms. She looks me right in the eyes.  
"You."

I am a bit late for English class, only because of the fact it's upstairs. I had to get the key to the elevator from the office- surprisingly a hard task- before actually being able to go on it.  
One thing that also surprises me is that no one has asked why I am using crutches or what happened to my thigh. The shorts I am wearing don't fully cover up the bandage so people can in fact see it. I didn't feel like dressing up too fancy so I wore a purple shirt with the slogan 'Insert funny joke here' on it. I have a navy blue hoodie on and a backpack since my hands are preoccupied. My hair is in a weird braid Martin's friend did for me when I drove them to school before coming to school.  
When I get to the classroom, the door is locked. I knock with my crutch on the door, the sound muffled a bit by loud neighboring classrooms. Ella opens the door, offers me a warm smile, and lets me in. By the way everyone claps, one would think I am the president! The whole classroom stands up to applaud me as I make my way to my seat.  
"Simmer down, simmer down" a male voice projects. "Hello, my name is Mr. Ford and I will be your substitute teacher for today. Now, I know there have been a few changes in the school due to our newest student stand against bullying and I know that you all may have some questions for her."  
I get a good look at the guy. He has red curly hair that reminds me of Joselyn. He is lean and is wearing khakis with a polo shirt. His tie is Lord of the rings themed.  
"Since we will be looking at news in the media, and trust me this is going to be on the news, I will allow you to ask any questions you like to Miss Summers."  
They all form a circle around my desk, shooting questions at me so fast and quick that I get a bit overwhelmed.  
The same thing happens in math. And in wrestling (seriously can't I just read my book in peace?).

After school I call Patrick and ask him if I can go to Marie and Ella's house to 'study'. He says yes, mostly because he still thinks Ella and Marie are on Ares' side. When I get home I pack a bag, take a shower, and slip a few drachmas into my pocket for our 'study' session. Just before I leave the house, I hear someone call my name. I turn around to find Ugene staggering towards me.  
"Sister, you need to take medication!" he calls, his voice cracking. I back up to the front door and start feeling for the handle.  
"Just give the medication to me, and I will take it at Marie's." I calmly offer. Ugene turns his head and smiles wickedly. Then something pops into my head.  
"Aren't you supposed to be at that Ares compound?" I ask, my voice shaking.  
"Yes but Ares let me go after giving me two shots of this weird golden liquid! I'M FREE AS A BIRD!" with that, he collapses to the ground. I rush over (as fast as I can on crutches) and wave my hand. Patrick appears and almost beheads me with a sword.  
"Diana?!" he exclaims. "You can't just poof me in and out whenever you please!"  
"No time for magic etiquette, look!"  
Pat looks at Ugene in horror.  
"Fix him!" I demand.  
"Wait, why do you want me to fix him? He has been mean to you ever since you came here, abusing you, playing with your mind! Yet you still want to fix him?"  
"I know what he has done, and I know he is messed up. But I also know that there is hope for him. Not much, but hope is hope. And even just a little hope can make all the difference," I tell Patrick. There is a long silence and then Patrick sighs.  
"You are just like your mother," Patrick sighs. He picks up my brother.  
"Now," he sighs "have fun at your studying sleepover. And don't forget to take your medication," Patrick calls from down the hall. A little bottle appears in front of me with a box. I stuff them in my bag before heading over to Marie's.

"You ready to take your meds?" Marie asks. They get me to lie on the couch while Marie sits in a chair beside me to make sure I don't hurt Ella. I scoff.  
"I'm never ready."  
I can't watch as Ella puts my medication into one of the needles from the box. Also in the box is a guide on where to insert the needle.  
"I will warn you, the effects of the medication may vary," I warn. Marie squeezes my hand in support, and they decide to count to ten, giving me the medication at a random number.  
"1......2......3......4.......5.......6-" I feel a pinch and then a burning sensation in my thigh. I scream, to which Marie clamps a hand over my mouth. I feel as if my body is on fire; my body shakes; Ella and Marie silently freak out.  
"What do we do?" Marie asks.  
"Wait until it's done?" Ella suggests.  
I feel a sweat coming on; thank goodness I packed a few extra outfits. Marie still holds my hand as I convulse on her couch. I see images flash before my eyes; Ares whipping me, Ugene whipping me, Ugene torturing me, Ugene hugging me before stabbing my thigh with the oyster knife, Ugene tying me to that chair, force-feeding me alcoholic drinks. It is now all fresh in my mind; I pass out.

My eyes flutter open. At first it's as if I am looking through water. I sense three people in the room. I feel someone's hand holding mine, a man's hand. I blink a few times but end up closing them.  
"How long have I been out?" I groggily ask.  
"Three hours," Marie answers, stroking my face "I thought you were dead so I called your house."  
This time, I am able to fully open my eyes; I am greeted by black curly hair, green eyes, and glasses. Patrick has one hand on my stomach, the other on my neck.  
"How do you feel?" Pat asks his voice full of concern. His gaze is down to his lap and it takes me a second to realize that Patrick is trying to heal me.  
"I... I can't...." Patrick mutters.  
"I'm a bit queasy; I know you can't; and why is the stuff getting worse and worse?" I ask hoarsely.  
"Water should help with the queasiness. As for the symptoms... Diana, the medication is altering your DNA slightly. Next dose should make you pass out for 5 hours, and it will be the final stage." Pat tells me.  
"Wait, CHANGE my DNA?!" I exclaim. Pat nods, doesn't say anything, at least until I motion for him to explain.  
"Your DNA says that you have Dyslexia and ADHD, so the medication is altering it so that you don't have them anymore." Patrick explains. He probably doesn't notice the small vein sticking out of his forehead; he is lying. Patrick rubs his hands as if they are cold.  
"How about I leave so you girls can study?" Patrick suggests. Ella and Marie couldn't have pushed him away any faster. Marie comes over to help me up.  
"Are you sure that you are ok to stand?" Marie confirms. I nod.  
Marie helps me walk to the stairs, Ella carries me up the stairs, and they both help me to Marie's room. It's a simple room; has one big bookshelf, a twin bed, a vanity table, a closet, and an open space with bean bag chairs.... And a bucket of water. Not to mention that One Direction posters are staring at me.  
"You brought the drachmas, correct?" Ella asks. I dig them out of my bag, with help from Ella.  
"Oh, Goddess Iris, please accept my offering," I say before plucking the drachma into the bucket. Sure enough, an Iris message pops up.  
"Evaline Malone, Joselyn Hunt, Sandra Anderson please?" I request.

Eva’s POV  
"Ha HA! I have beaten you! I AM THE ULTIMATE KING OF EVERYTHING!" Reilly shouts. Ammon, Joselyn, Sandra, and I are playing a game called 'World Domination'. Reilly just won, mostly because we are all excited and nervous for what's happening in two days from now. To Reilly, this mission is like World Domination; a game. He demands us to play it again, but frankly I am too tired. I was up all night last night having nightmares-we all have- about what Ugene did to Diana after he found her Iris messaging us. It didn't sink in until we had these nightmares that Diana could be tied up, bloody and just holding on by a thread for all we know.  
"Ammon? What's that?" Reilly asks with an odd curiosity. I look up in attention to see another Iris message. This time Dae is sitting in a bean bag chair, she looks a tad healthier, and there is hope in her eyes.  
"Hey guys!" she exclaims.  
"DAE!" we cheer.  
"How are you?" Joselyn asks.  
Dae regards that she heard the question and ponders it.  
"The only thing keeping me from going mental is Marie." She states.  
"Hi!!!!" a girl, apparently named Marie, says.  
"How's your... Your...." Ammon struggles for words.  
"Your back," I blurt out.  
"What did Ugene do to you?" Joselyn asks whilst cracking her knuckles. Dae hesitates.  
"Nothing," she squeaks.  
"What do you mean nothing? We had to sedate you for crying out loud!" Marie exclaims.  
"WHAT?!" Sandra, Joselyn, Ammon and I all exclaim.  
"Ugene whipped her and then Ares did. Also Ugene stabbed her with an oyster shucking knife." Marie informs us. "She has to use crutches to get around. We don't heal because the Nectar Ares has tastes like week old garbage blended up."  
"May I see the scars?" Sandra asks. "If it’s alright with you, Diana," she adds. Diana shakes her head.  
"I don't need help," her voice quavers.  
"We know, we just want to see the damage," I try to approach her in a different way. Dae still shakes her head.  
"No, not with two guys there," Dae sounds like she is on the verge of tears. She wipes her eyes.  
"Well, rest assured, we are coming in two days, and I can hopefully heal whatever damage has been done to your back," Sandra tells her. Dae perks up at this.  
"You are.... Coming for me?" Dae asks, doubt and hope in her voice. We all nod earnestly.  
"Just... Don't hurt Ella, Marie (who are with me now) Martin, Buzz, or Nathan. Nathan is Aelix's half brother," Dae requests. "Speaking of half brothers... Who's that?" she whispers as if Reilly can't hear her.  
"Oh, you haven't met him yet!" Ammon exclaims. He pushes Reilly toward the screen.  
"This is Reilly King. My brother," Ammon introduces. "He will help with getting you out of there!"  
Reilly sighs.  
"Even though my fabulous talent could be used elsewhere..." He mutters, apparently loud enough for Dae to hear.  
"The talent of not giving a shit?" Dae suggests. We all gawk at her.  
"What? We were all thinking it..."  
Reilly huffs.  
"Give me a break! I'm still trying to get used to staying human."  
"Used to.... STAYING human?" Dae questions.  
"He was a goldfish. Long story short, don't piss Poseidon off or you'll get turned into a fish." Josie sums up. Dae looks puzzled.  
"We will explain it when you get back..." Reilly says. He then looks Diana straight in the eyes.  
"So... Who's this Ugene character? I've heard he is nice, witty and a wonderful guy?"  
"If by that you mean torturous, sarcastic, and d-bag, yes!" Dae dryly remarks.  
"So, just my type!" he announces.  
Dae chuckles.  
"Ugene is the opposite of gay," she informs him. Reilly looks disgusted.  
"Wrong 'type' there sweetheart," Reilly cynically replies. I gesture to Ammon and he nods.  
"Okay, that's Reilly King for you... Reilly, let's go work on your swordsmanship!" Ammon suggests.  
"See ya Dae," He says before pulling on Reilly's upper arm, coaxing him to leave.  
"Wait, hold up!" Reilly shakes Ammon off "Your name is Day?"  
Ammon really tugs on his half brother's upper arm.  
"I'll explain," with that, he half drags his half brother towards the arena. We all turn our attention back to Dae, Ella and Marie.  
"Can you show us the marks now?" Sandra asks quietly. Dae curls up into a ball again.  
"I'd rather not..."  
Suddenly Marie's eyes widen.  
"Diana... What's that?" She asks in alarm. She looks up innocently at Marie.  
"What's what?"  
Marie lifts up Dae's right arm. It has her Mark scar, and four lines going across it, like a number line.  
"Diana, were you cutting yourself?!" Joselyn asks, on the verge of tears. Dae pulls her arm back.  
"No; Ugene did that. To mess with my head..."  
Joselyn lifts an eyebrow.  
"You sure about that Hun?" she sounds a tad skeptical. Diana nods.  
"Enough about me, how have you guys been?"  
Sandra and I both look at Joselyn. She looks surprised.  
"Why me first?"  
We give her 'the look' which makes her cave.  
"We have been training, strategizing, and worrying our butts off trying to come for you as fast as possible."  
Dae looks ashamed.  
"Sorry you have to go through all that trouble just for me..." Diana mumbles before dropping her head to her knees.  
We all look at her. Marie taps her shoulder; Diana's head pops up. Marie guides it to the Iris message so we all can look her in the eyes.  
"You're worth it!" we all say in unison, putting as much meaning as possible.


	14. Vulnerability, Voices, and Volunteering

Dae’s POV  
"Alright, let me see that thigh," an Apollo kid says as she unwraps the bandage around my left thigh. Marie and Ella collectively decided that they should take me in to get my leg fixed. So after the Iris message was over, they carried me down the stairs and into their van. Marie had to handcuff me in order to get me to come. Although they had the upper hand, seeing that I couldn't walk.  
"What did you say made the wound?" I notice she has a British accent.  
"An oyster shucking knife," I tell her, feeling defeated.  
She takes the bandage off and puts it in the garbage. She inspects the top of my thigh.  
"I don't see any wound," she points out. I lift my leg up to my face so that she can see the bottom of my thigh. I can lift it that high thanks to the flexibility potion Cole gave me.  
"Okay, that looks seriously painful! You can put your leg down, if you please, and I will assist in moving you to a different room," She says poshly. Marie and the Apollo kid help me walk to a different room. This one has a bunch of medical equipment and doohickey's that's purpose I don't have a clue. She gets me to lie down on my stomach on a gurney, next to some unconscious demigods from Ares army.  
"What's your name, dearest?" The Apollo kid asks.  
"Diana," Ella answers for me. The Apollo kid exits whilst writing something down on her clipboard.  
Marie and Ella notice my wary look.  
"I have a bad feeling about this place..." I whisper to them.  
I look around to observe my surrounds. The room holds 6 beds, all in which are full. Most of the bed spreads are grey, an odd color for a hospital. There is a nurse for every patient, and the one in the back corner is hooking something up to a body. When she moves away, I gasp, pointing at the bed. Ugene lies on the bed, an IV with golden liquid slowly streaming into his system.  
“Diana Agatha Summers...” Ares booms. I jump, turning in the air to look at Ares.  
“What do you want?” I spit. I’m not afraid of him, which is weird. Instead I feel sad for him.  
“I am here to ask if you will reinstate yourself as Anchor; if not, we will have to do it ourselves,” Ares calmly states.  
“Why are you creating an army?!” I ask “Why are you still trying to over throw Zeus, after you were embarrassingly defeated? And with their own children?!”  
"It was proven in the age of Percy Jackson that demigods could in fact defeat gods. That was before I realized that a gods essence when extracted and put into an offspring of the gods, it creates super soldiers. But why would I do this? Why would I go through all that trouble? You see Anchor, Zeus has always ruled. He is old and kind of an ass. He proclaimed me God of War because I had anger management issues when I was little. I was always mad because he was always an ass!" Ares tone goes from calm, to a rather enraged one.  
“Do you need a therapist? I know some pretty good ones...” I ask, mocking him.  
“Can it Anchor,” Ares snaps. He sighs. “Well, I know where you stand. Ella, Marie, go get her nurse,” He orders. Marie and Ella hesitantly leave. In a few fluid movements, Ares has me pinned on the bed. The Apollo kid comes back over with a syringe, Marie and Ella, following behind.  
"This may sting a little. Perhaps you hold onto your friend here's hand?" She holds a syringe with a multicolored liquid inside: not blinking an eye to the position Ares has me. I feel a stone in my throat form, making it hard to breathe and swallow.  
"What's in the syringe?" I ask nervously.  
"Do you want me to explain how it works in scientific terms or to get you healed faster?" She snaps.  
"Healed. Go for it."  
Ares flips me over to my stomach, securing me by getting the nurse to sit on my legs before injecting the liquid into me. I grab Marie's hand and feel the syringe enter my thigh. I feel every inch as it slides in, entering muscle and hitting bone. I cough, the result of trying not to cry.  
"Just a few more seconds..." the girl says. I can't feel the liquid going inside of me. Odd. As if someone were to set fire to my blood, I start shaking uncontrollably.  
"What's going on?" Marie exclaims. Suddenly I feel my right arm, near the wrist, burn intensely. When I look around, Ares is gone.  
"It is orders from Ares," she simply says.  
"What the f-" Marie says but I don't hear the last part due to a deep rumble sounding from within me. I feel something moving on my left thigh, as if the skin of my wound is melding. I get feeling in my left leg again but the burning increases and heads to my right arm. I try to get away by rolling off the gurney, fall into a pair of arms, and vaguely know that the rooms are changing color.  
"Ella!" a slow, deep version of Marie's voice says. Her movements have slowed down, so has everything else.  
"Help me get her to the van!" Marie slowly calls. Ella slowly runs over, skids to a stop before lifting up my legs. They run slowly, and I notice the clock on the wall moving slower. Slow alarms blaze and my friends run down the hall in slow motion. I hear slow, deep shout come from down the hall. Marie and Ella pick up their speed a bit. I vaguely know that I am being placed in a van, everything seems like a slow blob, and I can't really focus my eyes on anything. I can't feel my right arm and Marie is clasping the left hand. She tries to charm speak me into returning back to normal, but it doesn't work. Even Patrick and my mom are in slow motion when we get home.  
"What did you do?" Patrick slowly says.  
"We took her to see a doctor on Ares side to help heal her," Marie replies in slow motion.  
"Idiots! They have been trying to get their hands on her for a while and now look at what you have done!"  
Patrick gestures to me slowly. Wanda picks me up and I realize that I am heading to my room while Patrick interrogates Ella and Marie. Wanda changes me and puts me to bed.  
"Honey, sleep. It's what's best," she slows says. I fall asleep 10X faster than their talking.

First thing I see when I wake up is Patrick staring down at me. I feel an arm and body cuddled against me- two actually- as well as my right arm in a cast. Marie and Martin cuddle in closer to me upon realizing that I'm cold. I shiver a bit.  
"Diana? Say something!" Wanda demands desperately. Everything is back up to its normal speed.  
"What happened?" I groan. Wanda looks relieved. I go to touch the cast, but something stops me.  
"Don't touch it! We don't know what they did to you... Yet." Pat instructs.  
‘I know what happened...’  
"You do?!" I exclaim.  
"We do what, honey?" Wanda asks.  
No one said anything...  
'No, not someone on the outside.' a voice says.  
I must look panicked because Marie strokes my head.  
"What wrong Diana?" she asks.  
'It’s not what's wrong, but what's right!' I hear it again.  
"Nothing, just thinking." I lie. I am panicked.  
Who are you? I think.  
I hear a laugh.  
'You will find out sooner or later. But for now just keep calm and act like I'm not even here' it orders.  
"Can I have some water?" I hoarsely ask. Martin springs up right away to get me some water.  
"Anything else?" Wanda asks.  
"Patrick and you to leave, please." I quietly ask. Wanda objects so Patrick drags her out, knowing that I want to be alone with what he thinks is one of his faithful members of the army. As soon as I get a drink of water, I attempt to sit up.  
"Don't sit up, you have a fever. Er, a demigod case of a fever." Marie orders. I use magic to help me sit up. But when I use it, my right arm near my wrist stings so bad that in the middle of sitting up, I collapse on the bed.  
"Patrick had almost the same result. Except he passed out tryin to figure out what's wrong. He is going to a meeting today with Ares to actually discuss YOU," Marie informs me. "Do you have any clue what's going on?"  
'Don't tell her, don't you freaking tell her!'  
"I don't know but there is a voice in my head, one that isn't my own. I recognize it from somewhere though..."  
'Asshole!'  
"....And it's swearing at me."  
Marie looks at me in confusion.  
"You... Recognize the voice?" She questions.  
"Yeah. I can't put a face or name to it but it is familiar." I truthfully tell her.  
"Huh... Peculiar..."  
'Nice word usage... For a dumb ass!'  
"Shut up!!!!" I aggravatingly exclaim. Marie looks at me confused and slightly hurt.  
"Not you Marie, the Voice," I say a lot more calmly.  
Marie looks at me sympathetically.  
"Are you hungry?" she asks. My stomach growls and I realize that I AM hungry.  
'No you're not you piece of shit! You're too fat to eat!'  
"No," I quietly say. Marie sighs.  
"Did Patrick or my mom do anything to me while I was asleep?" I ask, changing the subject.  
"Your mom tried healing you with grapes but that didn't work. Pat, like I said, tried his magic but it didn't work. Your mom tried to inject some medication higher up on your right arm, but it just spit back out. After they gave up, they left for awhile." she hesitates. "I should let you know that a shiny purple brain appeared above your head, like a projector giving off a 3D image. It sank back into you."  
'And then I was born!' The voice says gleefully.  
What are you? I think. No answer.  
So NOW you choose to shut up?!  
"That's kind of creepy..." I mutter.  
"What time is it?" I ask after a long silence.  
"Um, 8:00 am." Marie answers.  
"Whaaaat?" Marie nods.  
"Martin and me slept with you last night, making sure that you were okay," Marie tells me. "I have to get ready for school..."  
I bolt up to a sitting position, not caring that it hurts.  
"Can I go?!" I plead.  
"You aren't strong enough," she says.  
I point to a book called 'The witch in you'. Marie hands it to me, I open it to a spell and recite what it says. I am already feeling better; my headache is gone and I can now do magic without feeling great pain. I place it back on the shelf.  
"What about now?"  
Marie shrugs.  
"You'll have to ask Patrick..."  
I use magic to pop him into the room. He pours milk into a glass, his expression going from bored to confused.  
"Can I go to school?!" I ask. Patrick starts to object.  
"Pleeeeeease?!"  
Pat sighs.  
"Are you feeling better?" he asks. I nod vigorously. "Prove it."  
I swing my legs off of the bed and stand up really quick. To my luck, I don't tip over or fall. I don't reveal that I am using his magic with the spell I found.  
"Now walk," Pat orders.  
I walk right up to him steadily and plop a grape from my hair. I eat it, never losing eye contact with him. This does in fact help. He looks surprised.  
"Alright then." he chugs the milk "I'm going to a meeting with Aaron. Can Marie drive you?"  
Marie nods.  
"Cool," with that, Patrick poofs out.  
You know, we could ditch school and follow him... The voice says.  
How? I think  
There is a spell in the book 'The witch in you'. Page 376, the voice tells me. I turn to Marie.  
"How about you go get dressed?" I suggest.  
"You sure you don't need me?" She concernedly asks.  
"I stood up, right?"  
Marie considers this.  
"How did you without using magic?"  
"I borrowed some of Patrick's magic and it helped. I don't know how or why..."  
Cause you two are opposites, the voice tells me.  
What does that mean? I think. No answer.  
"Alright then. Just, if you need me, send a warning before magicing me here, okay?"  
I chuckle before poofing her out. It takes a few seconds to gain balance but I get the magic book 'The witch in you' and lay it on my bed. I open it to page 376 to find a duplication spell.  
"What does this do?" I ask out loud.  
The duplicate goes to school while the real you turns invisible. The duplicate acts, talks, walks, and everything else just like you. It also sends you updates, the voice tells me.  
"Could I really pull it off?" I ask out loud.  
No. But WE can.

I am just able to slip into the portal Patrick created. I know the spell worked because he has looked straight at me but never said anything. I follow him through a series of tunnels, seemingly underground, down and up a bunch of stairs, and finally to a door. Patrick enters a password, a small click is heard and the door opens. I take note that Patrick is cleaned up, in a tux, and looks nervous. The room we enter is exactly like a courtroom. Patrick sits down at a mahogany table in the front of all the benches. We pass by some monsters, some demigod army participants, and others in which I cannot make out WHAT they are. More file in and in half an hour, the place is packed. One of them being the Apollo kid who 'helped' with my leg. Everyone rises when Ares enters. He dramatically walks up to the judge's seat and sits down.  
"We are gathered here today to discuss two... Matters I'll call them... Pertaining to our current situation." he looks at the Apollo kid.  
"First matter; the Anchor has been reinstated by force thanks to Edith. And thanks to her struck of genius, we were able to speed up her Fate as well!"- the room erupts with shouting, hooting, and clapping-" Now there is only one way for it to be broken and the girl doesn't die like last time. Luckily I had enough control of Greg to make him commit suicide as a soul trade. The Anchor plan shall proceed to the next step tomorrow. Which brings us to our next matter of business," Ares looks at Patrick. "Patrick Nealson... Whose side are you on?"  
"Y-y-yours, Lord Ares," He answers, keeping his head down. "It's, just... I haven't been feeling 100% lately. I feel like I'm being drained. But I am on your side," Patrick robotically answers.  
I can actually drain him of his magic? I think.  
Yup. You are currently the most powerful demigod Ares knows, yet he has no clue. The voice tells me.  
Ares dramatically gets down off of the judges seat, walks over, grabs Patrick's collar, and pulls him close so that their noses are almost touching.  
"You remember the deal? You do as I ask and I will free your son."  
Patrick looks Ares in the eyes.  
"I have more than one kid," he states.  
Christopher Nealson is his only blood son... The voice tells me.  
Ares scoffs.  
"Who? You only have Christopher!"  
"Nope. I have Chris, Martin, Ugene, and Diana now!"  
Ares laughs and sets Patrick down.  
"If they were truly your kids, then you would be on Camp Half Blood's side. Seeing that one son is on their side, one son on ours, your last son is legit crazy, and your daughter.... You have betrayed her and will again." The crowd cheers again.  
What? I think.  
Patrick adjusts his glasses and I notice that his hands are shaking. His forehead is moist.  
"What do you mean?"  
Ares walks back to the judge’s seat.  
"Diana, unfortunately, has a strong will power. Which means that as long as she remembers her old friends from camp Half Blood, she will never truly be on our side. If we kill them, it will only make her more against us. In order to prove to me what side you at on, you have to perform a certain spell forbidden by people of your kind. And do it-"  
Get out of here now! The voice interrupts.  
Why? I think, missing when The Plan will be put into action.  
The spell is fading. You haven't been focusing on it, causing this result!  
I start to see my translucent hand shimmer and ripple. I hastily make a portal to school so I can rejoin with my duplicate. I get there just in time; my duplicate is currently being mobbed by the COS club. I quickly and quietly sneak into my own body. The impact is so great that I collapse to the ground a bit off balance. I alter the mist so that the group sees me faint. I stay on the ground as a few people help by carrying me to the nurse.

Two of the people in the group stay in the infirmary with me until I 'wake up'. I take advantage of this and don't go to Gym class. The nurse decides after half an hour to call my guardians. She can't get in contact with Patrick (surprise surprise) but my mom does pick up at work. Or, rather, her secretary.  
"Yes, we have Mrs. Summers daughter Diana here. She's not feeling too well and needs to be picked up seeing that she isn't on the bus list....... She would have had after school schooling but seeing that she isn't feeling well, we decided to hold it off..... Yes...... Okay, thank you..... And to you too. Okay, bye," the nurse hangs up the phone. She sees I'm awake. I pretend to be confused.  
"I will let Marie explain," The nurse says. I turn to see Marie at the door, clearly pissed off. I smile meekly.  
"I'll give you two some space..." the nurse says before leaving the room.  
"What... The HADES..... did you do?!" Marie tries to say calmly but it doesn't work.  
"I, um, might have eavesdropped on a meeting about me..." I admit.  
Marie sighs and relaxes a bit.  
"Why?"  
"Because I have a right to know! And guess what I learnt?" hot tears burn in my eye sockets.  
"What?"  
"The Apollo kid... She..." a tear slips out. "She somehow reinstated me as anchor... And she sped up the Fate..." I start to cry. Marie walks over to sit beside me, giving me a hug.  
"The voice.... Inside my head... It's the Fate. And the burning on my wrist... It's the Anchor. And it burns when I touch it, or use magic on it."  
"Diana, what gender is the voice?"  
Hello! I'm baaaaaack! The voice says. We are in quite a predicament, aren't we?  
"It's male, and I recognize it from somewhere... I just can't remember where."  
Marie looks baffled.  
"Do you think Patrick will help?" she asks.  
"No. Just before I left they were talking about how I'm not on Ares side fully. He said he won't kill my friends cause that will repel me even more, so Patrick is going to do something about it. The thing is, I don't know what or when!"  
The door creaks open revealing the nurse.  
"Diana? Your mom’s secretary is here to pick you up." she informs me. I nod, acknowledging that she spoke.  
"I just have to collect my things; I'll be right out," I tell her. Marie helps me up and together we go to my locker.  
Ingrid, the secretary, waits for me impatiently in the office. She looks really pissed off that she got the job of driving me home. I have only heard about her once so I am a bit nervous to actually meet her. She is a tall fair woman with a slicked back bun. She wears a pantsuit and high heels. Ingrid taps her foot impatiently.  
"Hurry up kid, I don't have all day!" she barks. I scurry to the black Honda Civic she points at. When Ingrid drives, she stares straight ahead.  
"We are going to your mother's work." she states "and while your mom works, you can visit the other children in the hospital."  
"Is that even allowed?"  
Ingrid grins.  
"If you are our head surgeon's daughter, yes."

As soon as we get to the hospital, I am escorted by a male nurse to the 8th floor where all the mentally ill patients are. I am supposed try to get them to talk about it and just be friendly, or just distract them. First up is a girl named Veronica. She is here because of her severe anorexia; she lost consciousness due to malnutrition and self harms. I knock before I enter the room. Veronica is lying on a bed when I enter and sits up as soon as she sees me. A table is beside her bed with a plate of toast. She scoots up to the backboard of her bed.  
"Hi, my name is Diana," I say calmly. She looks at me through her blonde hair. She has marvelous brown eyes that look scared. She hugs her knees. I take note of the loose hospital gown and the hollowness of her cheeks.  
"They gave you my profile, didn't they?" she mutters.  
I smile.  
"Yes, but I want to hear your story from the only person who can really tell it; you," I say, making eye contact and smiling. I go to sit on the only other furniture in the room, a chair. She turns, dangling her skin-and-bones legs.  
"My name is Veronica. I'm 16 years old, have been here for 3 months, and am here because of my eating habits." she shyly tells me.  
"I, um, was bullied when I was younger," she admits.  
"So was I, still am," I say bluntly. Veronica looks up at me bewildered.  
"Really? What for?"  
I shift, regretting bringing myself up when I am supposed to focus on her.  
"My brother is a psychopath who tortures me. I was bullied because of my ADHD and Dyslexia, I have been called every name in the book, and I almost killed myself a few months ago."  
She looks at me with surprise and shock.  
Wait, did I seriously just say the last one out loud? I think.  
"How are you..." she starts.  
"I hung myself," I lie "And my friends found me. I forgot they were coming over to study, one of them did emergency CPR, and brought me to the doctors." Veronica looks at me with sadness and sighs before opening up.  
"I didn't eat for a few days while my parents were on a business trip. My sister never came down from her room." she tells me, still in shock. "I got called fat, slut, whore, ugly, turd every day. Someone spray painted for me to die on my locker. I started cutting myself after that," she admits. She shows me her thin wrist/ arm. Five think red lines run across with too-many-to-count white scars. I take off my sweater and show her the place Ugene cut me 4 times. I then proceed to take off my shirt, not caring about her seeing my marks. I don't know how I am comfortable doing this to a total stranger.  
"Can I... Touch them?" she slowly asks. I sigh.  
"If you really want to..." I tell her. I feel small bony fingers trail the different marks on my back.  
"How did you get them?"  
"I upset my brother and he whipped me after tying me up." I tell her. All of a sudden, she pulls her hands away. I pull over my shirt and put my sweater back on.  
"How are you so sane? Or calm?" she asks.  
This I have to stop and think. How AM I sane? And still here in Denver? Why haven't I fallen into a depression or at least tried to find a way out? I could probably run away with Buzz, Marie and Nathan. We would have to take Lucas and possibly Avery with us to keep them safe. As well as Martin. If I can, why haven't I?  
It's because you know your cute little friends are going to rescue you, the Voice says.  
Ugh, you're back, I think.  
Admit it; you missed me, it coos.  
No, I miss my friends. I have a feeling that from here on out, it will get better.  
What makes you think that? The voice snarkily remarks.  
Because I have faith, I think back.  
"Well, it gets better," I finally say after a long pause "But only if you allow it to."  
Veronica walks over to the table, picks up the plate of toast, and walks back over.  
"I'm not allowed to leave the room so can you go fetch me some more toast?" she asks. I nod, a weird feeling spreading through me. I leave the room. When I go to throw out the toast, I notice that it's mushy, as if it was sitting there since breakfast.

After spending an hour with Veronica, sharing stories, playing board games (that were deemed 'non triggering'), and doing a bit of homework, I get ushered out of the room by the nurse head of the volunteers.  
"Okay, your next patient is also on this floor, just came in today. He is dealing with almost the same thing as Veronica but to a less extreme." he tells me. The nurse passes me the file.  
"I will warn you, he was just recently put into emergency surgery. He is awake now and a bit groggy. His parents and a few friends are in the waiting room; I would like you to escort them to him."  
The nurse's caller beeps and he swears softly.  
"I got to go. See you in an hour."  
He runs off; I head over to the waiting room. I pass a person who is on a gurney getting rushed into the ER. They have a huge red stain on their clothes and on the gurney linen. I turn away, almost losing my lunch.  
You are in a hospital... How haven't you passed out yet? The voice asks.  
I don't have the answer to everything! I snap back.  
I continue walking down the hall, ignoring the voice in my head, and look at the new file. There is a sticky note attached to the manila colored envelope.  
Parents: Kirk Patin, Caroline Patin  
It reads. I walk through the threshold of the waiting room.  
"Kirk and Caroline Patin?" I call before looking up. I immediately feel weak in the knees.  
"Diana?!" Nathan and Avery exclaim. They both look like they have seen a ghost.  
"What are you-" I start but an African-American couple stops me.  
"Where is he? Where is Lucas?!" the lady, Caroline, demands. She grips my right wrist rather painfully, my cuts stinging.  
"I shall escort you to him as soon as you tell me what happened," I say. I am confused; I thought he was getting better!  
"Avy and Natan found him being beaten and called name like 'nigga', 'ugly' and 'fat'" the father informs me, a thick African accent making it hard for me to make out everything.  
I turn around, seriously pissed off.  
"Right this way," I say. They follow, Nathan and Avery following.  
"Sir, it's NaTHan and AvERy," Avery calls. Kirk brushes it off.

Lucas has stitches on his torso, jaw, and arm. His lip is swollen and he is missing a tooth. He has a pained expression that makes me just want to try feeding him ambrosia, even though I know it would kill him, just to see if that made it better. Lucas is awake but just barely. The file says he was stabbed in the torso, his attackers beat him brutally with their fists, and scratched at him with the knife. They also shoved and threw him repeatedly against a dumpster.  
The police report says:  
They threatened to 'kill the nigga', just as Avery and Nathan walked by. Avery and Nathan both were attacked as well but they defended themselves and ended up sending the attackers to the hospital as well.  
"Mom? Dad? Diana?" Lucas groans. His mom draws crosses above her heart with her fingers.  
"Thank you, Lord Jesus!" she prays.  
I wish there was some way I could help... I think to myself.  
What about the mind-trick thing? The voice suggests.  
What mind trick? I think.  
The one you used on Aelix during that first Inner Self class. The one that made his brain feel like he's having a hangover! The voice exclaims.  
Oh yeah... I think.  
"My poor boy!" Caroline cries. I walk over and grab his hand. We lock eyes; I focus on making his head feel hung-over but without the migraine so he just feels numb inside. Lucas visibly relaxes, his eyes never leaving mine. Caroline picks up on this.  
"Wha.... What did you just do?!" she screeches. Nathan and I lock eyes; he is looking at me like I just did something horribly wrong.  
"Nothing, I just held his hand," I brush it off. Caroline doesn't buy it.  
"No, no you did something to Lucas!" she screeches "What did you do to Lucas?!" she starts toward me. Nathan goes between us before Caroline can get to me. Nathan pulls me away, out of the hospital room. He paces once we are out of sight.  
"What did you do?" Nathan asks harshly.  
"I... I can make people feel like they have a hangover but like without the migraine part," I tell him. He sighs exasperated.  
"You can’t just go around using your powers everywhere! Mortals will notice!" Nathan keeps his voice down so that no one can hear him.  
"Just... Don't use your powers when people are around and you will be fine. Now go to your next assignment." he heads back into the hospital room.  
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO THE WITCH?!" Caroline screeches.  
I sigh.  
At least you didn't get tied to a stake and burned... The voice says.

No One’s POV  
Patrick, Ares, and Ugene watch through the window of the room Diana is currently in. She is playing Mario Kart Wii with the 10 year old guy, pretending to be worse than the kid. Ares studies her smile and the joyous look in the kids eyes.  
"She has a kind heart, when she isn't enraged. I want you to take that away from her when you do that spell." Ares says after about ten minutes of watching them. Patrick looks from Diana to Ares with a worried expression.  
"But that's her personality; her kindness can't be easily taken away," The son of Hecate replies, trying to keep the hurt out of his voice. A now-normal Ugene smirks audibly.  
"But love can be taken away." he states.  
"No, love is harder." Patrick corrects. The little boy bounces on his bed in joy, as Diana turns to him with an overjoyed expression that's half-faked. She double high-fives the boy and congratulates him on coming in 5th.  
"Would destroying her love, or forgetting it be easier?" Ugene asks. Patrick thinks.  
"We could alter the memories of her friends so that she thinks it is Ella, Marie, and Nathan instead of Joselyn Hunt, Evaline Malone, and Sandra Anderson. Then edit the memories of you torturing her, to them." Patrick suggests, regretting it every time he looks at Diana. The burn patient with PTSD looks at her with amazement.  
"What about Aelix?" Ugene asks through gritted teeth.  
"Yes, her boyfriend. Is there any way you can edit him out?" Ares remarks.  
Patrick swallows, his forehead becoming moist and his palms clammy.  
"Yes." he is just able to get out. Pat clears his throat. "But I will need a few ingredients."  
Ares laughs evilly.  
"That can be arranged. Just make sure you do the spell. If not..."  
Ares takes Ugene by the neck, choking him.  
"Ugene, Martin and Chris get it," Ares states before poofing off with Ugene. Patrick turns to the window, tears running down his face, his hand touching the window.  
"I'm sorry my daughter..." he whispers.


	15. What Happens in Denver

Joselyn’s POV  
Today is the rescue day. I'm going to kill that son of a bitch Ugene. Slit his throat, pierce his heart, electrocute him, cut him in half, maybe cut off his arms and legs, then let him bleed out. Eva could Chinese water torture him! I think as I sloppily brush my teeth. We leave this afternoon so all morning we are training as well as practicing our tactic, working as a team, and making sure that we are prepared for anything. We have even prepared for if they have Diana under possession, although we have seen her. She didn't look possessed, but neither did Ajax. Eva is prepared to control 70% of anyone who is in our way. She forces the water in their body to the ground whilst someone else attacks. Sandra is prepared to give people serious sunburns and to quickly heal anything that needs to be healed right away. Reilly, Justin, and Ammon are in charge of making sure we can get her out. Ginnifer is our 'if anything goes bad' magic person. If anything surprising pops up Ginnifer is to help deal with it.  
"Hey Joselyn?" I hear Nico call, pulling me out of my thoughts. I spit out all the toothpaste from my mouth, check my teeth, before opening the bathroom door. Nico stands there in full armor, and his Stygian sword in a sheath attached to his hip.  
"Yeah?"  
He whips out the sword.  
"Unguard!"  
He swings at me. I duck and roll, grab the closest thing I can- a hair dryer- and aim it at him. We battle playfully, his sword clashing with my hair dryer, laughing as we go along fighting.  
"So," clink "today is the day," Nico tries to disarm me but it doesn't work. Using the wire like my whip, I grab his fighting wrist, pull, and as expected he drop his sword. He stares at his sword in amazement yet with a smirk.  
"Good to know you could fight even with a hair dryer!"  
We both chuckle. Nico pulls me in close for a hug.  
"Do remember to be careful. And if you get the choice to either kill Ugene or rescue Diana, choose wisely," He advises.  
"Diana is top priority. That choice is easy."  
Nico smiles.  
"Good." he surpasses me, into the bathroom. Once out of earshot, I mutter:  
"We have enough people rescuing Diana that both choices are in one option."

Breakfast is a huge event. There are bagels, waffles, an assortment of berries, different drinks, and everyone is simply buzzing with excitement. Aelix and Cole are here to, and Aelix seems mentally stable. He eats all of the food given (a first in the past month) and actually talks to the group.  
"So Cole said that while you guys are gone we could make a bunch of decorations and stuff for Diana's return," he excitedly says. He looks around the table for approval, and most people shake their heads 'yes'. Aelix beams before finishing off his waffle like a little kid on Christmas. I notice that he looks lively again, yet scared out of his mind. Like every smile is forced. I text Cole this.  
He had a pesadilla last night that really freaked him out  
I look at Aelix then back to Cole.  
What was the nightmare about? I text him. It takes a few minutes for him to respond.  
He dreamt that Diana was almost violada by Ugene. It really tore him up. I had to give him an extra massage.  
Out of nowhere, Aelix stands up from the table, approaches Reilly at another table, grabs him by the collar and goes face to face. Cole immediately runs up to him. Reilly looks at him as if saying 'woah, dude calm down'.  
"I know you are going on the quest to rescue Diana. I swear, if you as much as lay a finger on her in a way she doesn't like, I will beat you to a pulp and throw you back into the ocean!" Aelix growls. He let's go of Reilly and swiftly walks back to our table as if nothing happened.  
"So when do you guys leave?" Aelix asks, taking a swig of grape juice. He plops a grape in his mouth.  
"Well the wind nymphs are taking a group after breakfast because they tend to move slower than shadow traveling and teleportation," Eva answers. "We are leaving around 2pm Denver time. School should be just getting out."  
Aelix nods in approval.  
"And... You guys are going to attack the house?" he asks.  
"Yup," Sandra answers. Aelix's hand twitches.  
"Can you all promise me something?" Aelix shyly asks. We all nod.  
"Come back with every one of you alive."  
I can't help it; I get up and give that boy a hug.  
"We will do our best," I tell him. I ruffle his hair before returning my dishes.  
"Hey, Jaclyn, right?" Reilly runs up to stand beside me in line. I glare at him.  
"It's Joselyn." I correct him.  
"Oh sorry. I just wanted to say that it will be an honor assisting you and your friends rescue Delilah," He says. I scoff.  
"Her name is Diana," I give my dishes to the demigod at the counter.  
"Ah, yes. I'm sorry. I can't wait to meet her." I look at him; he raises his eyebrows twice in quick little motions. He smirks; I shove him back.  
"Like Aelix said, if you lay a finger on her in a away she doesn't like/approve I will personally chop you up into little goldfish pieces, make a fillet out of them and feed it to your mother!"  
After that I storm off to the table, grab Eva and Sandra, towing them away from the scene.  
"What? Where are we going?" Sandra objects.  
"We are going to train."

Shadow traveling 3 people is my job. Then it is to go in and rescue Dae, assuming she is home. Hopefully we won't lose too many people.  
The group going in to rescue her is a weird combination; Eva, Sandra and I, Ammon, Justin Frank, Ginnifer Stroud, and Reilly King. Cole is staying back to make sure Aelix doesn't enter mental insanity again. He was doing fine when we left, considering his fatal flaw is attachment, and was practicing with his bow and arrows. Ajax is supposed to help if there is any trouble outside where they need their most agile demigods. Kacey herself is going into battle as well. I didn't know she was good with a sword! Nico, Percy, Piper, Leo, Will, the Stolls, and (surprisingly) Pollux are here to help. Pollux isn't even drunk! Kacey contacted as many elder demigods as she could, seeing that Dae is so important. Ginnifer explained that since she came back to life, she has the broken pieces of the Curse/Anchor. All Ares needs to do is get Diana on their side, reinstate her as anchor with a spell, and the army is back.  
We are meeting at the top of Half Blood Hill so that we can say goodbye, hopefully not forever. My two brothers are coming with us so I just have to wait while my group says their goodbyes. The first group gets dispatched by Wind Nymphs before my group is all accounted for. I grab Justin's and Ginnifer's hands.  
"Fair warning; first time shadow travelers might get sick," I tell them. I lead them under a tree and focus on shadow traveling.  
When my feet hit the ground, I instantly collapse in a wave of dizziness. Justin catches me.  
"Thanks."  
He smiles.  
"Anytime."  
He sets me down gently before helping the traveling-sick Ginnifer. Looking around, I see that we are in a forest behind a school. School is going on and checking my watch, it is 2:15. We don't know when their school gets out, so our plan is to wait out Patrick/Diana/Ugene.  
The school looks like it has seen better days. Its bricks and concrete look brittle, its window are musty, and there are vines scaling the building. We see a bunch of teenagers smoking. Some notice us and point.  
"They spotted us! What do we do?" Justin whispers.  
"Stay calm," I advise "Act like we belong."  
The people who spotted us walk over. They are poorly dressed with a joint to their lips. The one on the left takes a deep breath of the smoke.  
"Whooooo are youuuu?" They say.  
Ginnifer, over her shadow traveling sickness, walks past Justin and I, up to the three boys.  
"We are here to pick up a girl by the name of Diana. Do you know her?" She sweetly asks.  
The ones on the sides look at the one in the middle.  
"Diana.... Ugene's brother?" the person in the middle slowly says.  
"That's her!"  
The guy in the middle takes a huge draw of his joint before answering. Just before he can answer, a bell rings. The three look around in panic, the two on the sides’ gesture to the student parking, and they run.  
"She is in the school right now," the guy says before booking it to the car his buddies entered.  
"THAT was helpful," Justin sarcastically says after a long silence. A gigantic hoard of students come through the doors, chatting, hooting, and making multiple other noises. I spot Eva and Sandra in the adjacent spot to us, also a forest. We see multiple students leave the school grounds but can't pin point which one is Dae. The only one we can pin point is Ugene. His green and black hair zipping towards the building, whereas everyone else is leaving in a rush.  
I feel a buzz in my pocket. Taking out my phone I see that I have a new text.  
Our 'army' is a few feet behind Eva and I. You, Ginnifer, and Justin follow Ugene when he comes out, text me the address of the house and then we will attack after everyone is there  
Sandra texts me.  
I tell Ginnifer and Justin this, to which they agree. We wait here silently for about twenty minutes before we see Ugene come out of the building... Alone. He walks over to a certain pole in the student parking lot, taps it in a certain order and stands back. At first nothing happens. But soon the pole starts shimmering, twisting and bending to make an O. The interior of the O glimmers before turning into a solid picture.  
"Those types of portals haven't been used in years..." Ginnifer whispers. She grabs Justin and I’s hands.  
"Come on!" she pulls us about a meter.  
"What if he sees us?" I whisper. Ginnifer let's go of my hand, snaps her fingers, and grasps my now-invisible hand.  
"Cloaking device. Now move your asses!"  
We run down and make it just before the portal closes.

Meanwhile- Diana’s POV  
As I eat my lunch, I think about the events that happened after I got home from the hospital.

"Patrick?" Wanda calls as we enter the house. She drops her keys into the bowl as I trudge along behind her exhausted. "What's for supper?"  
We find Patrick in the kitchen with a half-asleep Ugene sitting at the table. Martin is also at the table, but doesn't make eye contact with anyone. Patrick stirs something in a pot; he looks at us with such guilt that I want to comfort him.  
"Chicken Lasagna," He says dryly. He glances at me quickly before looking back at what's in the pot.  
"Am I allowed to have some?" I boldly ask.  
"But of course!" Ugene screeches. "Sister must be strong and healthy for brother-sister bonding time!"  
If I had food in my stomach, it would have come up and onto the kitchen floor. Instead, my stomach gurgles loudly. Ugene stands up from the table, stalks over, and kneels so that he has eye contact with my stomach. My mind blanks and I just stand there helplessly. Ugene grabs me by the waist from his kneeling position.  
"That was a big noise coming out of a tiny body. How did that even happen?" he rhetorically asks. He starts kissing my stomach, small pecks just brushing my shirt.  
"Patrick...?" I squeak, finally able to fully register the situation. Ugene's kisses head down. When they get to my abdomen, I am finally able to react. I push his head away, run to the basement door, run downstairs and let the slamming signify my feeling. I run to my bed and instead of crying, I curl up into a ball in the corner.  
"Diana?" I hear Wanda call. She opens my 'door' to peek her head in.  
"Are you alright?!" she asks with so much concern, I think it's partially faked.  
"No I am not alright! When will you come to your senses that I am being abused and having a lot of almost-rapings with my own brother?! You have witnessed it but didn't do anything about it; my own birthmother! You said that you wanted me back so you could have a daughter and a full loving family again. If you really loved me, you would get Ugene institutionalized, stop ignoring me, and respect that I'm a human being to." I project my voice to show my rage.  
My mom looks taken aback.  
"Honey, your brother doesn't know how to show love-" she starts but I don't let her finish.  
"DON'T YOU CARE THAT UGENE IS A FREAKING PSYCHOPATH WHO WANTS TO GET INTO HIS SISTER'S PANTS?!" I yell. I am almost at the point of tears.  
"I do care it's hard for me to cope and figure out where to send him," Wanda tries to use that as an excuse.  
"It's hard for me to keep fighting him. Mentally... Emotionally... And physically. You guys have been starving me. Ugene has beaten me to the point where I am almost broken. And just when I'm about to break emotionally, who is there for me? My FRIENDS. Not you, Patrick, or any family except Martin. You are only there when you see an open wound, but you could have been there to prevent it from happening. You're not a bullying, but a bystander that waits until the last second to help."  
Without telling Wanda or anyone, I magic myself over to Marie's front step. As soon as I see Marie, I tackle her in a hug, balling my eyes out and I collapse on her front porch.  
"Woah, Diana, what happened?" she asks with pure concern, catching me.  
"Ugene... He... He..." I stumble for words. Marie makes a shh sound.  
"How about we go up to my room and you can tell me there, okay?" she suggests. I nod.  
"HEY MA CAN DIANA COME OVER?" Marie yells.  
"YOU MEAN THE SWEETHEART NEXT DOOR?! OF COURSE!"  
With that Marie helps me walk up the stairs to her room. Marie guides me to sit on her bed and explain to her what happened. So I do.  
"And... He kissed my abdomen..." I say. Looking in the mirror I see that I look as if I have seen a ghost.  
"That's.... Gross." Marie states.  
"And he kept on moving down his kisses... Then I pushed him away and ran down stairs," I tell her about what my mother said and what I said. Marie listens intently before hugging me again.  
"You know you can stay here, right?" she says while embracing me. I nod.  
"Now, how about we-" Marie starts but stops. She pulls away from me, giving me a confused look.  
"What?" I ask. Marie points.  
I follow the line of her finger to my arm. The weird mist is clearing, revealing the mark. The cuts Ugene had put on my forearm now form a box. The box is cut into quarters; there are two slightly curved lines coming from the bottom of the vertical line splitting the box, and each one has a tail that branches off about half down. One of the tails is a tipped over L and the other is a vertical straight line Marie and I examine it.  
"It looks familiar..." Marie mutters. She goes to her door.  
"ELLA! COME HERE!" Marie yells. I hear footsteps come up the stairs; they converse quietly before both of them enter. Ella takes my wrist and studies it intently.  
"It looks Chinese. I'll go get my translator," Ella concludes before running off to her room. She comes back a few minutes later with a big book filled with different symbols. She flips to a seemingly random page, studies my mark again, and goes back in forth between my arm and the mark. Her eyes widen.  
"What does it mean?" Marie impatiently asks.  
"It means 'bound'"  
A shimmering light bursts from Marie's closet signifying that a portal is being opened. Ugene walks in, the light cocooning his slim body. His eyes set on me.  
"Bad sister! You can't run away!" he coos. In a matter of seconds, a vine shoots up from the ground, wraps itself around me, and ties me in my own cocoon. Another vine pushes Marie and Ella to the wall. They scream and shout profanities as Ugene picks up my cocooned-self, walks back into the light and then the girl's screams can't be heard.  
The room on the other side of the portal is Ugene's bedroom. He throws me on his bed not too nicely, positions me so that I am sitting with my back against the head board, and ties the vines to the headboard. Ugene walks over to his computer desk, sits in the chair, and stares at me. I don't scream for I know that I won't be getting any help. I don't react because I know that's what he wants, and I won't give him that satisfaction. After about ten minutes of him staring at me like a statue, he grabs something from his drawer.  
"Sister, you frustrate me. I expected you to bitch out at me, or at least scream for Mummy and Patrick, but no!" he turns around to show me a knife. "Looks like I'm going to have to kick it up a notch," he advances on me. I close my eyes, preparing for the pain... Yet it doesn't come. I open my eyes to find that he is jabbing at the air.  
"What the hell?" he mutters. His body can move yet when the knife is a meter away, it freezes in place. Ugene tries different weapons, attacking at different angles, but it doesn't work. Eventually he gives up.  
"Whatever spell you are doing, Patrick can break it." Ugene aggregately says. He unties me from the headboard, looks me in the eyes, and chuckles.  
"You look like a green-eyed deer in the head lights!" he chuckles. He picks me up into his scrawny arms, cradles me like a baby, and carries me down to my room.

"Earth to Diana?" Nathan calls. I snap out of the flashback and turn my focus onto him. He stops snapping his fingers.  
"What did you think about that test in Math?" He asks.  
I shrug, continuing to play with my cafeteria-bought mystery meat with disgust (they said it was chicken, but it doesn't even look like it's a mortal animal!).  
"It was easy," I say.  
Yeah, because I told you all the answers, the Voice says.  
They don't know that. They also don't know that I ran out of the house before I could take my medication, I think.  
I must look like I'm sad because Marie taps my shoulder gingerly.  
"Are you okay?" she asks and I know she means mentally and emotionally.  
"Yeah," I force a smile "Why?"  
Marie gestures to the still-full plate.  
"You haven't eaten anything on your plate and it's been twenty minutes," she says as if she is telling me bad news.  
"I don't blame her; look at that brown stuff. What's that supposed to be?!" Buzz asks. He takes a bite out of a pop can that I am currently covering with the Mist.  
"I ordered the chicken and veggies meal... But the carrots were red, the peas were deflated and whatever the brown stuff is, it's not chicken," I answer. The group laughs.  
"Here," Marie says, handing me some money "Drive down to Dunkin Donuts and get something."  
"No, it's okay. I've got money," I say. As soon as I get someplace I can't be seen, I teleport to the house, quickly make and eat a sandwich, teleport to Dunkin Donuts, buy a sandwich and walk back over in a matter of 7 minutes. I get back just in time; the bell rings, signaling for everyone to go to our next class. I have Phys. Ed next, to which I am sitting out. I still have crutches because people still think I can't walk. Avery meets me at my locker, offering to help me change today. I decline, seeing that I am 'still on crutches'.  
I bring a book to read called 'City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (the Voice reads it to me since I can't read). Avery helps me up to the bleachers and makes sure I am good before running off to her team. The gym class is playing dodge ball. I end up only reading two chapters because of my ADHD; every time the whistle would blow or someone would talk, I would get distracted. When I try to focus on my book for the millionth time today the phone rings in the gym teacher's office. He answers it, looks to me, and then says something into the phone. He hangs up.  
"Diana Summers? You are wanted at the office," he briskly reports. I nod, grab my stuff, Avery and one of her friends helps me down the bleachers and after thanking them profusely, I head over to the office. As soon as I get into the hall, I see a figure in the shadows of one of the pillars. They wear black jeans with a black shirt and mask. I walk faster, sensing danger. But my pursuer is faster. They tackle me to the ground, turn me over, hold my hands over my head, and point a needle to my neck.  
"The last dose," they say. The person sticks in the metal part of the needle, not letting any of the liquid escape. He leans in and against my will, kisses me passionately on the lips. He digs his tongue in, exploring my mouth. I don't respond to him. He gets bored so he pushes the plunger down slowly, causing my mouth to open wide from the burning pain in my neck. He quickly pulls it out, puts it in his backpack, before double-restraining my wrists. He starts kissing my neck; I try to scream but my voice is lost. I start feeling cold all over, I find that the air in the school is running out, and I start shivering.  
"HEY!" a male voice calls. Looking up, I see Buzz and a few other students are across the hall. My pursuer gets up quickly.  
"A gift from your brother," he whispers before running out the doors. Buzz and Nathan are the first to reach me.  
"Diana, are you okay?" Nathan asks. I swallow nervously.  
"Not really," I mutter. Buzz helps me up, letting me use him as a stabilizer and crutch. Nathan helps too.  
"Someone go report that to the office," he orders.  
They swiftly bring me back to the gym.  
"She's having a panic attack," I hear the teacher say. I am seeing double and feel dizzy.  
"Are there any asthmatics in here?" the gym teacher yells. One kid brings an inhaler over. The gym teacher instructs me to breathe in deeply. I manage breath which is enough. The medicine helps me breath, I am not cold anymore, and everyone only has one of them in my vision. Although I feel like I am going to throw up.

By the time the school is over, I can't tell what is real in my mind and what is not. I watch students pass me in the halls on my way to my locker. Sometimes I see my friends faces, sometimes I see Ugene's face, and sometimes I see no face at all. When I crouch at my locker, it's like the whole world is tilting, trying to knock me down. I finally get my locker open. By that time, the halls are nearly empty. I hear someone say my name.  
"Diana?! Are you okay?" they ask. I try to speak but I can't find my voice. A thousand voices fill my head, all saying my name. I hear Joselyn, Eva, Sandra, Aelix, Ajax, Ammon, Cole, Kacey, Greg, Derrek, Mark, Mitchell, and my aunt's voice, going from regular speaking to screaming. I see navy blue eyes, green eyes, black, blue, brown eyes all starring at me. They start moving, spinning to be exact. In the middle of the circle, there is a blackness that comes towards me. It is filled with pain, misery, and insanity. I try to push against it but it's stronger than me. Finally finding my voice, I scream. I hear myself scream names.  
"EVA! SANDRA! JOSELYN! AELIX! KACEY! AMMON! AJAX! COLE! MARIE!" over and over again. I feel someone grab my shoulders.  
"Diana? God damnit breathe!"  
I try to open my eyes but it's as if they are super glued.  
"Someone help!" I hear them yell, but as soon as they are done, the voices come back again. I gasp for air, only to find it blocked. The darkness sweeps over everything as the voices in my head and the voice who I heard go silent.

I can see my body. I am not dead yet I can see my body. I know right away that I am experiencing an OBE (An OBE is an Out of Body Experience). My body is currently lying on a table; wrists, ankles, waist, and head strapped down as Patrick circles me. He is chanting something while occasionally touching my head or putting/pouring something on me. Ugene is reading a magazine right next to the OBE version of me.  
"I told Nathan that she was just overwhelmed and missing home," Ugene casually tells Patrick.  
"Good, good cover Ugene! I'm sort of glad that the Nathan boy was there," Patrick says, not ever looking away from my body. Ugene looks up from the magazine he is reading with a curiosity.  
"How’s the spell coming along?"  
Patrick pours some red liquid into my hair. It glows before slipping into the bucket under my head.  
"Just a few more steps before I have access into her mind!" Pat excitedly tells Ugene.  
Access to my mind?  
Patrick says some words in ancient Greek while brushing his fingers through my hair. He does this three times. He attaches a tiny sheet to my forehead, a wire to the sheet, and then the wire to his computer. He types in his computer whilst reciting a spell. There is a pause.  
Patrick squeals in success causing Ugene to drop his magazine and go over.  
"Did you do it?" my brother asks. Pat nods.  
"Now, what do we want new and improved Diana to remember?"  
I try to smack him but I can't; I'm in OBE form so I just pass right through him. It frustrates me.  
"I hate to do this," Patrick says but brushes off the thought before typing something into the computer.  
Ugene pushes away Pat's hands from the key board, furiously types, and in a few clicks I see a screen pop up in front of me. If I could scream I would. The clip playing is a memory, yet not a memory. Ugene has edited the memories of Aaron and himself torturing me so that I will remember them differently. Instead of Aaron/Ugene, I see Joselyn, Sandra, Eva, and all my friends at CHB in his place. It's exactly the same clip, just with a character swap. Ugene hits 'enter' on the keyboard, and soon another ghost-thing form appears kind of blurry. This 'ghost' and I check each other out while Pat and Ugene tamper my memories.  
"Who are you?" I ask.  
The ghost gets less blurry every time they edit something.  
"I am your Fate," He answers with a snarky tone of voice. I cringe at it causing it to laugh. The ghost holds out a tiny bag. The next time they hit 'enter', a part of me disappears.  
"What’s happening?" I glare at them, trying to be tough.  
"They are putting the old you into the Recycling Bin!" the ghost cynically laughs. I look down at myself and am slightly surprised to find only my arms and head still here.  
Click  
There goes my right arm. I look at its exposed right arm. It also has the scar from the first prophecy.  
Click  
My left arm goes. The ghost approaches my floating head and gets clearer.  
"The last one they are editing is how you died. They are making it seem like your cute little friends faults," it hugs my head, " have fun,"  
Click  
Nothing happens. The ghost looks at me, confusion written over their face. I look down to see I have my body parts back. I smirk.  
"Can’t get rid of me that easy!" I triumphantly yell. Patrick glares at the screen.  
"The hell?" he whispers.  
Ugene looks too. He looks mad yet pleased.  
"I've edited the memories but when I go to destroy her love and compassion, it only comes back!" Pat exclaims in frustration.  
Ugene goes right over to my body and without a warning, slaps me upside the face. Somehow I feel it even though I'm not a part of my body. My OBE cheek stings; looking over I see that the ghost is holding their cheek.  
"What in the name of Hecate?" Patrick mutters. I walk over to stand beside the two boys and look at the computer screen. It's a close-up of me right now. I see the other form smirk and wave. Ugene, in a sort of stance, waves back. Patrick quickly scolds him for doing so.  
"Don't interact or YOU will get sucked into her and that has never happened before!"  
Ugene smugly smiles.  
"I thought that's how transsexuals are made..."  
Since he can see me, I give him the middle finger. Ugene goes to punch the computer but Patrick holds him back.  
"Go sit on the couch; I will keep trying and let you know."  
Suddenly, the other form strides over confidently and starts choking me. It has no effect on me but I see my actual face turning red.  
"LET ME GO!!!!" my OBE form yells. He doesn't say anything in a while.  
"Look at me Dae, and tell me what you see!"  
The other form turns me around. I find myself looking into moss green eyes, clouded by black curly hair.  
"Greg?!" I exclaim. He smirks.  
"That's right little sister! I'm back!"  
I look at him in amazement.  
"What? How? Why?"  
He tightens his grip.  
"LET ME GO!" I yell.  
"Fine. I will let you go. But," Greg let's go and snaps his fingers. Suddenly a tornado bursts out from my body's belly; it takes away Greg. It doesn't hit me at first, but then it feels as if I got trampled by a centaur. I grab onto the nearest thing- which unfortunately is Ugene’s arm- trying not to get sucked into the tornado. Ugene looks at his arm horrified; his skin is ripping off his right arm. He doesn't scream.  
"Patrick?!" my brother calls, his voice crackling. Patrick looks over at first perplexed and soon changes his attitude. He waves his hand, making a line from his arm to where the tornado's core is. The tornado seems to not be affecting them. I let go without my consent and go flying towards the tornado core.  
Two things happen before everything goes black; Patrick's computer explodes. That's not their only problem; I hear a knock upstairs.


	16. Rescue, Repair, and Release

Eva’s POV  
It takes ten minutes for Joselyn to text me the house address. Sandra ‘Google maps’ the house to find that it's an hour walk. Fortunately, Cole’s sister Nessa is here to fix and hot wire a broken bus. Kacey makes sure everyone is on the bus before getting on herself. It takes us about fifteen minutes to get to the house, fifteen minutes of briefing, fifteen minutes of worrying; have Joselyn, Justin, and Ginnifer been seen? How is Dae? What if she isn't there? What have they done with her? The squeaking of the bus tires pulls me out of my thoughts.  
"Okay, is everyone ready?" Kacey asks. Everyone nods.  
"Are YOU ready?" A guy in the back calls. Kacey laughs cynically and gets down off the bus. We all go to that side window. Kacey cuts the air, swings the sword above her head, turns around by going on her back legs, and slams the sword down. She looks up at our wondering faces.  
"Well, come on!" she orders while laughing.  
As soon as we get to the front lawn, an army of demigods flood from the backyard.  
"IN THE NAME OF THE GODS!" our side battle cries.  
"IN THE NAME OF ARES!" The other side battle cries. They go to attack.  
"Wait!" Ginnifer yells, projecting her voice. Everyone stops mid-battle stance.  
"Before you go off and lose a bunch of lives, I would like to say something," she tells us. A deep green mist erupts from the ground under the army. They try to move but they are frozen on the spot.  
"Now, where is the extraction team?" Ginnifer turns to face us with a smirk on her face.  
"If you don't mind, I'm going to join," Kacey says. Reilly, Ammon, Joselyn, Justin, Ginnifer, Sandra and I form a clump, Kacey leading with Justin at the back, to enter the house. Kacey knocks on the door. For a few minutes, nothing happens. There is some commotion in the house, and by the way Kacey taps her hoof, I can tell she is impatient. Without a warning, Kacey goes up on her back feet and stomps down the door. A woman stands there with a look of terror.  
"Patrick?!" the woman calls. No answer.  
"Hi! Are you Miss Summers?" Kacey sweetly asks as if she didn't just stomp down a door. The woman nods. I move to get a better look and when I do, my stomach lurches.  
She looks so much like Dae! I think.  
"Is Diana home?" Kacey asks. Miss Summers' jaw tightens.  
"You're here to take her away from me, aren't you?" she tightly asks. I see a light shimmer over us; mist.  
"We are from Child Protection Services. We received a call from an anonymous source saying that Diana is currently being tortured and whipped." Reilly smoothly lies.  
"I have no idea what you are talking about; I never laid a finger on her!" Miss Summers exclaims. We brush past her, ignoring her empty threats. We enter the first door we see, finding a staircase. Kacey decides to stay upstairs (stairs aren't her thing) and says that she will let Diana ride on her back. We all ready our weapons; take a big breath before charging down stairs.  
The sight we see is horrible; Diana is hanging from the ceiling by chains. Her face is dirty. She is only wearing a sports bra and short shorts. She is unconscious. Worst of all, it looks like she has recently been whipped.  
"Well well well.... Look at the Rescue Team Camp Half Blood sent," Ugene says slowly. He circles Dae, a whip in his hand and an evil glimmer in his red eyes (I thought they were green...?)  
"Let her go!" Joselyn growls. I put a hand on her shoulder, a silent signal not to do anything rash. A loud snap brings me back to look at Ugene. A small stream of blood flows from Diana’s back.  
"Or else what?" Ugene mocks.  
"Or else we will have to do it by force," Sandra says calmly. How she is keeping her cool, I have no idea. Ugene laughs menacingly.  
"Alright. I will much enjoy this," Ugene says. Out of the blue, Joselyn charges towards them but when she about a meter away, she stops abruptly. She falls to the floor, deep red coming from her hair. Ugene laughs.  
"Did I mention the force field Patrick made?" Ugene sneers. "You can't touch either of us. He built it so that you five specifically can't get past! Also, he disabled whatever was keeping me from hurting Diana."  
We didn't plan for THIS scenario. My mind starts going into strategy mode; can our weapons get through? I throw my sword at him, but it also bounces off of the force field. Ugene laughs.  
"You see, Patrick knew you were coming, coming for Diana AND himself. So he picked up his pea-sized balls and left. But before he did, he made a force field around us so that you five won't be able to get us. And your weapons."  
Wait did he say five? Looking back to do a head count, I see Sandra, Joselyn, Ginnifer, and Ammon. Where are Justin and Reilly?  
"But one thing he said for me to do was not to hurt her" he gestures to Dae "any more than I already have," he whips her again. We all yelp.  
"Unfortunately for sister, I don't listen very well."  
Suddenly, a brown/green mist appears in front of Ugene's face right when he takes a breath. He breathes it in, coughs, and a surprise yet appalled expression crosses his face. He slumps to the floor, passed out. When Ugene moves, we see Reilly appear out of thin air behind the Summers' boy, with Justin.  
"He didn't know we were coming too" Justin states. "Therefore Reilly and I can get through the force field."  
"What did you do to him?" Joselyn curiously asks.  
"Stink bomb," Reilly answers. "Made it myself. And I turned Justin and I invisible." he brags.  
"Reilly?" Justin says. Reilly turns.  
"Yeah buddy?!"  
"Just get her down. I'll give you a boost." Justin orders.  
We all look up; even if Justin were to go on his hands and knees, they wouldn't be able to reach.  
"How are we..?" Reilly starts but before he finishes, Justin starts glowing. I cover my eyes due its brightness. I feel so unuseful; It was supposed to be Sandra, Josie and I saving Diana, not two people who she hasn't even met yet!  
The light fades, and instead of Justin, an Athene Noctua owl the size of him is in his place. Owl-Justin picks up Reilly by the shoulders to fly him up. Reilly wraps an arm around Dae's waist; he makes her legs locked with his, and cuts the chains with his sword. She collapses onto him, looking tiny when comparing height. Reilly IS a bit taller than Joselyn.  
"Got her!" Reilly calls down to us and up to Owl-Justin. As soon as they are out of the force field and have put Diana down, Joselyn, Eva, and Sandra rush over. She is trembling yet unconscious.  
"While I am getting the medication ready, you guys try to stop the bleeding as much as you can," Sandra orders. She runs upstairs. Ginnifer pops up a long roll of bandages.  
Joselyn brushes back Diana's hair from her back. Her back has too many scars from being whipped to count; it breaks my heart. I summon some water to wash her back, Joselyn shadow travels to grab some other stuff.  
"So, who is her parent?" Reilly asks.  
"Dionysus," Ginnifer answers.  
"Then why don't we get some rubbing alcohol? Won't the alcohol help?" he questions.  
"Where would we get it?" I ask.  
Suddenly Sandra comes stampeding down the stairs. A girl is behind her, as well as Martin.  
"Guys, this is Marie. She was a part of the army but she saw what Diana did on the balcony and switched sides!" Sandra exclaims.  
Marie sees Diana's condition; she goes from happy to hurt.  
"What happened?!" She softly says.  
"Ugene whipped her," I answer.  
"Again?" Marie exclaims. At this very moment, Josie reappears.  
"What... Do... You mean... Again?!" Josie growls.  
"Not a priority right now," Sandra calls. We can either help her here, or we could wrap the bandage around her now then help her once we are back safe at camp."  
Martin points to the ceiling.  
"What is it Martin?" Sandra asks.  
"He wants us to go upstairs. Isn't it obvious?" Justin states. After an awkward silence, he mutters "I guess not"  
Martin points to Dae, then to upstairs.  
"You want us to bring Dae upstairs?" I guess. Martin nods. Justin, Reilly, and Ammon all pick her up gently, being mindful of her back. Martin leads us to a room with a white door and a red cross on it. Martin opens the door to reveal a personal doctor's lab. The boys quickly set Diana on the medical table, and Ammon alters her position in an attempt to make her more comfortable. He even places a pillow under her head. Sandra orders Martin, Reilly, Ammon, Marie, Joselyn and I to sit and wait. Ginnifer casts a spell on the door before returning to help. I watch in anticipation as Sandra cleans Dae's back. She whimpers in her unconscious state, short little yelps that send chills up my spine each time. Sandra heats up a broth made by her and Ginnifer's combined knowledge.  
"So why don't you just use grapes or like rubbing alcohol?" Reilly questions again.  
"Ugene and/or Patrick cleared the house; I checked." Sandra says her gaze and focus never leaving the task at hand. She pours the white, milky solution over Diana's back. It makes a sizzling sound, turns blood red, becomes airborne, and finds an empty beaker.  
"That will stop her back from bleeding, at least until we get to Camp" Sandra states. "Now... To Camp Half Blood!"  
The boys pick her up as Josie fetches Kacey. Kacey brings Ajax with her. He has some scratches and a black eye, but other than that he looks like himself. We decide Ajax and Ammon should ride with Dae, seeing how they are the strongest ones here. Despite his strength, Ajax is gentle when handling Diana. Ammon sits in front of Diana, wrapping her arms around his waist, and Ajax wraps his arms around Diana to Ammon's waist. Ammon holds on to Kacey.  
"Now I will warn you, the army didn't stay frozen for long so there is battle out there," Kacey says. She unsheathes her sword, gets a determined look on her face, and charges into battle. We all run out with our weapons drawn.  
"Before we leave, we have to get Nathan," Marie calls.  
"Who's Nathan?" I ask.  
"My boyfriend," She states. Josie rolls her eyes.  
"Marie, Josie, Martin and Justin go get Nathan. Ginnifer, Sandra and Reilly come with me to cover for Kacey," I order over the slight cry of battle. We all run out of the house. The first thing I see is Percy fighting off someTHING, as two more creep up behind him. Ginnifer shoots fire at the two sneaky ones, burning them, and they let out a scream.  
"Looks like I better help out here. Go, cover Kacey!" Ginnifer yells. We look just in time to see Kacey slice another one of the creature’s midair. More approach from the sides and back. We run hard but it's not fast enough.  
"Reilly, can you teleport me to the back of Kacey?" Sandra asks.  
"Sure, why?" Reilly asks.  
"So I can shoot those creatures away." Sandra tiredly replies. Reilly grabs Sandra's arm, disappears from next to me, I watch as they reappear in the sky, Sandra lands right behind Ajax, and shoots down three of them at once. Reilly shortly after appears next to me.  
"So, it's just you and me..." Reilly says in a weird voice, the one Cole sometimes used, back before Joselyn and him were a couple, when saying a pick up line. In the corner of my vision, I see Nico gets pinned by one of the creatures.  
"Actually, just you," I breathe just before sprinting off to help Nico.  
The thing squeals when I slice it, just before it disappears into dust. I help Nico up. He winces. I notice the hole in his shoulder.  
"It's a boar-snake-bat mix. A mutant," Nico states. "It stabbed me with its horn. I'm fine." he jumps back into action.  
After knocking out some demigods and killing a crap load of mutants, I hear the signal that Kacey and Dae are safe and away. By this time, most of Ares side are either dead or unconscious, and from what I can tell we suffered three (?) losses.  
"Back to the meeting place!" Mitchell yells. I feel Joselyn link arms with me and pull me into a shadow. I feel queasy until my feet hit the ground as per usual. We are back in the forest near Pearson High school. Kacey still has Ammon, Ajax, Diana, and Sandra and the only injuries (apart from Diana's) are mutant scratches on Ajax and Ammon's legs.  
"Awesome. Now, to Camp Half Blood!" Kacey announces. Wind spirits take people who aren't Diana's friends and not afraid of heights. The Hecate member’s portal people out of here. Nico shadow-travels his friends back. This leaves our main rescue group. Ginnifer has a cut on her cheek, and looks like she is going to pass out, but she makes one anyway.

Aelix and Cole's decorations are beautiful. Due to Diana's current condition, Sandra gets Kacey to transport her to the Apollo lab as soon as possible, allowing Marie, Aelix, and I to come in. Josie has a concussion from hitting the force field and then over-exerting herself. Reilly isn't good friends with her. None of her brothers are allowed in.  
Ajax and Ammon carefully move Diana from Kacey to the work table. To make her comfortable, Sandra got a gurney cushion so that Diana can lay on a soft surface instead on metal. Aelix is too shocked to have a response and it seems he is on auto-pilot. Sandra orders Marie and I to help by fetching some grapes from the kitchen and to fetch some hospital attire. Marie fetches the hospital gown, leaving me with the grapes in the field. Luckily Ammon offers to come with me, to which I can only agree.  
"You owe me a date, so let's turn this task into one," Ammon says, smiling shyly.

Sandra’s POV  
The first thing I do after dressing Diana is put a numbing salve all over her back. I rub in the orange goop, staining my gloves with a bit of blood. I have to be more careful with Diana; she is mostly skin, bones and a bit of muscle. I didn't get a good look at her until now; it looks as if she has had only one small meal a day, but also is toned and is radiating some weird energy. Marie helps by tying Diana's hair in a bun and by doing stuff I tell her.  
"She used to be more... Fatter. Although it wasn't like she was overweight or anything," I awkwardly say. "Can you pass me that container?"  
Marie hands it over. I open it, grab a needle and thread, and examine Diana's back for the worst of the marks.  
"I know. I saw her when she first came to live with the Summers. You do know what she has done right?" Marie says excitedly.  
I start stitching.  
"What?"  
Marie tells me about the bullying problem, how she fixed it, and how Pearson has changed. She tells me about a guy named Lucas who has anorexia and self harms, how Diana inspired him to get professional help, and how she went through it herself. She tells me about the monster attack and how Dae saved a bunch of people. Marie tells me about how Diana told her she was getting tortured by Ugene, mentally and physically.  
"Diana did all that?" I utter in amazement. I notice she recorded what she said on her phone.  
I finish up the last stitch of the last major whip mark. I instruct Marie in helping me wrap bandages around her torso, and we get Aelix and Nathan (Marie' boyfriend) to help move her to the common room with the rest of the beds. We put her near Josie, and I give her a laxative just to calm her down. She thrashes in her slumber, something that only stops when Aelix holds her hand.  
"Diana..." Aelix breaths. He smiles at her before hugging I and Marie, a surprising gesture.  
"Thank you, for everything that you have done," Aelix says earnestly. He kisses Dae on the forehead, whispering a 'see you later' and 'I love you' before exiting all on his own.  
Wow, I think, that's a change.

An hour later  
I change out Diana's bandage again, my eyes moistening when seeing the whip marks again. Joselyn is awake now but has to stay here by Dr. Solace orders. She isn't allowed to walk or stand up unless it is to use the bathroom. Diana thrashes sometimes in her sleep; it makes my job harder. Sometimes she screams as if she is getting murdered; the first time she did that I almost cried, it was so heart-wrenching! We put her on pain medication that she can drink when she wakes up. Until then I have to inject it. Will, who is checking on Josie, looks at his phone.  
"Sandra have you seen Gwen lately?" He asks.  
"Nope," I respond. I head over to my locker and get out one method of healing. I set the sheets of music on a stand and start playing my clarinet. The Healing Hymn is one of my favorites to play; it's soothing and even makes me want to heal, though I don't have anything to heal.  
"Jake hasn't seen her either," Will worriedly says.  
"Has he looked EVERYWHERE?" I ask during a pause in the music.  
"No, I guess not..." he sighs and goes back to healing/texting.  
"SANDRAAAAAAA...... AAAAAHHHHHH" Diana screams at the top of her lungs. She grips the bed tight, arcs her back, and appears to be crying. It surprises me so much that I feel a tear slip down my face. I feel an arm wrap around my shoulders, the person pulls me in for a kiss. Ajax nods his head toward Diana's bed.  
"You need a break," Ajax states. "How about we go to that spot in the woods, and go apple picking?" he suggests.  
"But, Diana-"  
"I brought Aelix. Also Will and Sam are here. She will be okay," Ajax assures me. I sigh heavily and agree.  
"But, before we go, can I just... Try one more thing?" I ask. I think I am pushing it, but Ajax just simply nods.  
"But break after. I will be at the door," he confirms.  
When I turn around I see Aelix's eyes constantly moving, his thumbs tapping, and his foot vibrating; he either wants something, is anxious, or really has to go to the bathroom.  
"What is it Aelix?" I ask. He looks up at me with a hopeful expression.  
"Would it be okay if I... Uh... Cuddled... With her...?" He requests.  
"Of course, just no monkey business, okay?"  
Aelix nods. He carefully climbs in next to Dae, and she instantly cuddles against him. She stops trembling and looks more relaxed. Aelix wraps his arm around her and kisses Diana's temple.  
I pass Sam Diana's medical records as of Camp Half Blood with a note that says who can/ can't see her. She gets right to work.

Eva’s POV- Meanwhile  
"You did WHAT?!" I exclaim to Reilly. He puts his hands up in defense.  
"I'm sorry! I thought that he would be better off contained here than wild and out plotting! Sue me?!" Reilly sounds nonchalant.  
I glance at the open body bag with a passed out Ugene in it. He has multiple bruises and his head is bleeding.  
"But I found something you might be interested in," He says. Reilly reaches into the bag, pulls out Ugene's wrist, and shows me a dark black mark on his wrist.  
"What does it mean?" I ask in amazement.  
"It means 'bound'. And I bet you Diana has one similar on her wrist."  
I am just about to leave when Reilly calls my name.  
"I gave you info, the least you could do is help me bring him to the Hecate cabin to put him in one of those magical cells. You know like the one Chris is in," Reilly calls.  
"How do you know who Chris is?" I ask, intrigued as to how he knows.  
"I hear stories," he takes a step towards me "like how Chris tried to bind your soul to Kronos'. Of how my brother Ammon had to rescue you. I also have heard stories about your friends. I heard that most people at Camp think Diana and Aelix are the mental couple. I heard that Cole and Joselyn are the most... Excited couple. I have heard that Ajax Victor abuses Sandra. And I have heard that you and Ammon," he pauses, smirking at my teary eyes and ticked off expression.  
"You and Ammon are the couple people believe won't last long."  
At this point he is a finger-length away from me. He goes to pat my shoulder.  
"Your group is just a bunch of mental cases."  
That does it. I take his arm, turn, and flip him over my shoulder. I put a foot on his chest.  
"For your information, Diana is only mental because of all the crap she has went through. Did they tell you that she killed herself to save all demigods including your butt? Did they tell you some of her brothers-one of them being Ugene- have been almost committing incest? Also don't give Joselyn a reason to kill you; she IS a daughter of Hades. Also, did you know that Ajax has been on and off possession? He and Sandra are just waiting for the day when he is either controlled or in control. As for Ammon and I, that's none of your business."  
I take my foot off his chest and help him carry the bag through the woods, along the beach to where the cabins are.  
"Why are we going the long way?" Reilly whines.  
"I don't want anyone seeing me," I tell him. We sneak into the Hecate cabin unnoticed by other campers. Ginnifer immediately runs up to us.  
"Hi, if you guys don't mind waiting with whatever your problem is, we have a bigger one right now," Ginnifer tells us flabbergasted.  
"What's the problem?" Reilly asks.  
"Eva, how about you go see for yourself," Ginnifer responds, hanging her head low.  
"Why can't I go?" Reilly exclaims.  
"Because you are going to explain why you have a body bag," she curtly replies. I jog over to where a group of demigods are standing in front of Chris' cell. When I get to the front, I am surprised and horrified by what I see; instead of sinister Chris, I see a scared looking Gwen. Everything goes black.


	17. Visitors

Joselyn’s POV  
Being bedridden sucks. I know how Diana felt when she was here for almost two months; I feel vulnerable, a feeling I don't like. The only time I'm allowed to get up is to use the bathroom. I take some liquid medicine to help with the dizziness, and for the head pressure. I apparently suffered from a concussion for two days after the battle and I have been awake for 5 days.  
Eva came in a few days ago, the day we got Dae back because she had fainted. Sandra also came in that day apparently and was crying to Will about Gwen. The Hecate cabin disabled the cage so she could get out, and made one here for Ugene. Except anyone can enter/exit while Ugene can't exit.  
Eva and I woke up the same day.  
Diana is still out cold and is having night terrors. They are getting so bad that Aelix now has the job of sleeping with Dae to relieve her of that nightmare. Aelix doesn't mind. I can see the effects on him though; his eyes have shadows, his hair is disheveled, and he looks physically exhausted. Aelix only leaves her side for eating (though sometimes it is brought to him), bathroom, and for training. Marie and her boyfriend Nathan come in to see her as well as Sandra and Eva. They all visit me too, and stay longer with me considering they can actually talk to me. To keep my mental agility up we have been playing board games.  
Ugene was brought in, also in a coma, and whenever Diana screams, he screams. It's freaky because Ugene's scream is lower; like they are trying to harmonize their screams. But one thing Eva pointed out was that they both have a Chinese symbol on their wrist. I have no clue what it means but I think it has something to do with the night terrors. Maybe it's the symbol for fear?  
"AAAAAAHHHHH" Diana and Ugene scream. I just notice that Aelix is in the bathroom. He rushes back in, pulling up his sweatpants, and quickly jumps to Diana's side. She stops mid-scream, rolls over to cuddle with Aelix, and I can see moisture on her forehead from where I am positioned.  
"Moisture," Eva plays. We are playing Scrabble and Eva is kicking butt at it. Sandra adds up the points; Eva grabs 8 new letter pieces.  
"Romance," Marie plays, the 'e' in romance being the same 'e' in moisture.  
"So, do you know when Diana will wake up?" Aelix calls to Sandra.  
"No clue," she answers, adding the points to Marie's score.  
"Clueless," Sandra plays, the last 's' in clueless the same 's' in moisture. She adds the points.  
"We don't know why she passed out. She doesn't have any bruises on her head, her bloodstream is clean, and she can't tell us for obvious reasons." Sandra explains.  
"Maybe it was the ADHD/Dyslexia medicine they were giving her. She was supposed to only be passed out for 5 hours but apparently not..." Marie tells us.  
"Wait what? She was given medicine?!" I ask. Marie nods.  
"Yeah," she turns to Sandra "I have a bottle of it in my make-up bag. Want me to go get it?" She offers.  
"YES! How come you didn't tell me?!" Sandra exclaims.  
"I kinda... Forgot about it...." Marie admits with her head down. She gets up and exits, heading off to the cabin area.  
Sandra is so excited, she is literally shaking.  
"If I can find the origin of the medicine, I can find a substance that counters the effects!" Sandra tells us.  
"Zeus," I play, a smirk on my face when Eva sees that I got a triple word score. I look over to Diana's bed, scanning all the machines. Her heart rate is at its normal pace now that Aelix is there, she is being well nourished now, and she luckily doesn't have anything attached to her but those two things. The heart monitor doesn't even have to be stuck in her! The one thing I find heart breaking is how much malnutrition has taken its toll and the scars on her back. Will put a healing salve with grapes and wine on her back, and it helped a little, but she still has a lot of scars. I know that Sandra is emotionally torn up whenever she has to look after someone whom she is friends with. Maybe that's why she is so eager for Dae to wake up and was excited for Marie to bring the medicine? The sooner Dae gets better, the less torn up she will be. Sandra doesn't know I know that she cries when alone looking after Dae.  
By the time Marie returns, the Scrabble board is almost completely full. Sandra hurriedly dashes off to the nurse’s station immediately after receiving the vial. In a few minutes, Sandra squeals with excitement. Marie and Eva place me in a wheelchair and we rush over to the station.  
"Eva, Marie? Go find the boys. We will need their help."

Eva and Marie are off finding a special herb from the garden. Ajax and Cole are going to get the blood of a Chimera. Aelix and Ammon are getting Ophiotaurus teeth. Justin and Reilly are getting some mortal food. Nathan is replacing Aelix's job, seeing that he can also take fear away momentarily. What am I doing? Sitting in bed because I'm not allowed to walk much less hunt. Sandra decides to explain the medication Diana took.  
"They used a chemical unknown to mortals that can alter a person's DNA. All I had to do was find what makes it react and then find something to counter that. She is passed out because her body is getting used to not being Dyslexic." Sandra tells me. She pauses for a second before continuing. "But the thing is, she was supposed to only be out for 5 hours. She has been unconscious for a week. My theory is that she is in shock over the abuse that happened beforehand"- she didn't say 'whipping'-” and something else I don't know. I also don't know the origin of her nightmares."  
As if on cue, Diana and Ugene scream like someone was murdering their mother in front of them. Nathan rushes back to Diana, a few satyrs running in behind them.  
"Why is there-" I start but then I figure it out. Mr. D swaggers in after the horde of Satyrs.  
"Hello?!" Dionysus calls. Sandra wheels me out of the nurse’s station and approaches Diana's dad.  
"Yes?"  
Mr. D scans us, looking as if he can't remember us.  
"Which one of you," he slurs, dragging his finger between Sandra, the Satyrs, and me "Is looking after my daughter?"  
Sandra steps forward.  
"That would be me," she diplomatically replies. Dionysus stalks past, over to Diana's bed.  
"How is she?" He asks, his voice cracking on 'she'. The god of wine touches Diana's head in a loving gesture, pushing back her hair.  
"Other than malnutrition, the night terrors and the fact she is unconscious, she is good from what the machines tell me," Sandra answers with the same diplomacy as before.  
"Did you try grapes?" He asks. Dionysus seems to be a bit on edge (who can blame him).  
"Yes," Sandra replies.  
"What about Alcohol?" He frantically suggests.  
"Yes," Sandra replies, a bit of annoyance in her voice.  
"Well there has to be something else you can do?!" Dionysus yells. His breathing his short and quick; he is frustrated or really anxious. Or both.  
"The 'medicine's' antidote is currently being made. I will send someone to get you as soon as she awakens, okay?" Sandra soothes. She runs over to the nurse’s station, grabs something and runs back. She offers it to Dionysus.  
"Want a sucker?" She asks. Dionysus takes it but doesn't look pleased.  
"What about the other one?" Dionysus says with disgust.  
Other one? Oh, Ugene.  
Sandra and Dionysus head over to Diana's scum-of-a-brother bedside.  
"He is more of a mystery. He is in similar condition, but isn't knocked out by a substance."  
"Sandra?" I call. Mr. D and Sandra both turn to look at me.  
"Why can't you just flush the substance out of her body?" I suggest. Sandra looks at me as if the answer is obvious.  
"The stuff they gave her, it’s attracted to her. Will took a blood sample and apparently her cells are feeding off of the substance's molecules. It’s altering her DNA, one of the reasons she is passed out," Sandra explains.  
Ugene screams, at the same time that Diana cuddles closer to Nathan.  
I don't really get Nathan. Apparently he is Aelix's full brother, but Nathan has a British accent, yet Aelix does not. Nathan looks a lot like Aelix, except Aelix is stronger physically and Nathan is stronger emotionally. He doesn't even bat an eye when Diana was screaming whereas Aelix practically was balling. Then again, Nathan isn't Diana's boyfriend. Nathan looks more posh than Aelix, has shorter hair that is as curly as his brother's. They are exactly the same height. Nathan looks at Diana, sighing with exhaustion (preventing fear to overcome her dreams takes a lot of energy) and with sadness. As Sandra and Dionysus talk, I observe Nathan and Diana. Nathan traces his finger along one of the scars on her neck. He handles her with a sibling tenderness that she could use, as if Aelix and Dae were to switch places. Or get married, and Nathan feels that he must protect her for his brother. Or he is afraid that she will break.  
"What in the name of Zeus is on her wrist?!" Dionysus asks. Sandra and he are now examining Dae. Nathan groggily sits up and after stretching, looks at the mark.  
"It's Chinese," he states "That's all I can tell."  
Dionysus snaps his fingers.  
"Felix!" He exclaims.  
"Who?" Sandra and I ask.  
"Felix... Big guy, Chinese, is dating Nico's sister...." he is greeted with blank stares.  
"He can turn into animals," Dionysus tries.  
"Frank Zhang?" I guess.  
"Yeah! That guy. He knows Chinese! Let's fly him in!" Dionysus deliriously proclaims.  
"I'll go get Kacey," Sandra slowly says. She takes off her nurse’s equipment (stethoscope and white coat) before running off to get Kacey.

2 Days Later  
"It means 'Bound'." Frank tells us. The 'us' being Kacey, Dionysus, Aelix, Sandra, Eva, Reilly (whose presence I am confused with), and myself.  
"Bound to...?" Reilly drawls. He looks bored; his arms are crossed in front of his chest and he is sticking his hip out.  
"If I were to guess, it would be to the guy with the same mark in the same place. I know that marks like these can only be bestowed by a powerful child of Hecate." Frank informs us.  
"Thank you Frank," Kacey says while it sinks in what he just said.  
"Wait, so if he is bound to her, does that mean Diana and him will act similarly?" I ask.  
"No. But let me check something..." Eva answers. Approaches Diana, hesitates before poke-tasering her in the sides. Ugene's back arches, he squeals, and goes limp.  
"Check his sides," Eva orders. Sandra lifts up his shirt to reveal two fresh bruises in the exact same place Eva poke-tasered Diana, except they are the size of a mouth-washing cup.  
"Whatever we do to Diana, goes to Ugene tenfold, and vice versa," Eva concludes.  
"So if we torture Ugene, Diana will get the same results but ten times worse?" I ask to make sure I understand.  
"Exactly," Eva says.  
"That crafty son of a bitch!" I mutter.  
"Hey!" Dionysus whines. "I ain't no bitch!"  
"No, not you Mr. D," I quickly say. Dionysus turns to his Satyrs. He points to one at random.  
"You will give me status reports on Diana," He commands. He points to a different one "And you will do the same thing with Ugene."  
With that, Dionysus goes to leave but the god of wine stops at the door.  
"Oh, and Sandra? Pollux is coming to see her soon. I am not responsible for THAT."  
Just as he says this, Pollux swaggers into the room, though I wouldn't have recognized him as if he had a mask on. His hair is combed, he doesn't look or smell like alcoholic drink, he can walk, and he looks, well, hot. He scans the room and upon seeing me, approaches.  
"Hello Joselyn. I am looking for my sister?" He diplomatically says. Stunned, I point to Diana's bed. Sandra walks over.  
"Excuse me," she taps his shoulder "who are you?"  
Pollux chuckles.  
"Ah, Sandra. You're looking well! Then again, you don't have any poison in you. Most people look better when not poisoned..." Pollux chuckles again. He turns to look at Dae.  
"Who's the guy in bed with her?" Pollux asks. Nathan has fallen asleep, and he snores lightly.  
"That's Nathan, Diana's boyfriend's brother." Sandra tells him. She gets out her Clarinet to play a Healing Hymn.  
"Have you tried healing her by Sibling?" He asks.  
Sandra stops playing and I stare at him blankly.  
"Do you not know what that is?" He asks, baffled.  
"No clue," Sandra responds, curiosity evident in her voice.  
"If they have enough siblings who love them, they can draw from their love and strength to heal. Though it takes away a bit of strength from each sibling. That's why we need lots of them. If it's just one person, it will take half of their strength." Pollux explains.  
"Can her friends who love her very much be a part of it?" I ask.  
Pollux thinks about it.  
"Yeah. We will need to prepare."  
"But I don't know how to do that! What are we supposed to do?" Sandra exclaims. Pollux looks at her calmly.  
"That's why I'm here."


	18. Hello, Helped, and Healed

Kacey’s POV  
I am so nerve-wracked. Pollux came into my office not drunk off his ass, totally clean and spiffy, and told me how to heal Dae. They are getting it set up in the arena for the ceremony. It will take hours of set up, making sure the Hecate cabin can do the magic involved, and keeping the Dionysus kids off their drugs as well as beer. I have them all locked up in Mitchell's office with coffee and gum. The gum is to help stop the tobacco craving, the coffee to drink instead of beer. Mitchell is with me in my office.  
"So let me get this straight," he looks like he can't wrap his head around it. "Love is the only method to heal her?"  
I nod.  
"No offense, but that's seriously cheesy," Mitchell admits. I chuckle.  
"It kind of is..." I admit. I take a swig of coffee that Mitchell brought.  
"I'm participating in it. I feel that Dae is my responsibility, which I know is crazy. I'm transporting her to the arena; I want to make sure she is safe."  
Mitchell wraps his arm around me.  
"It’s not crazy; I feel the same way about Aelix."  
"Speaking of Aelix, where is he?" I ask.  
"He is warding off Dae's nightmares. He has literally been the only Phobos child to get Diana to relax in her sleep. It’s like she is paranoid more than frightened when the others are trying to ward the nightmares off, but with him she can calm down and not worry," Mitchell says.  
There is a small silence.  
"Mitchell, what if it doesn't work? Or when it does, she won't remember us or anything of that sort?" I softly say. Mitchell wraps his arm around me in a comforting gesture.  
"Then we will find some other way, together. We could contact Lou Ellen? Or even one of the gods to come help. Anyone who like Dionysus and the idea of Olympus staying on top. She's the Anchor; she is important to have on our side." Mitchell reassures me. He pulls me in for a deep, passionate kiss.  
"Wanna watch a movie?"

Mitchell leaves after we watch The Vow. He has an appointment with one of Diana's brothers. As soon as he leaves, I have a knock at my door.  
No one gets that it's always open! I think to myself.  
"Come in," I call.  
Annabeth enters, Percy following. Percy holds a little baby with sea green eyes and little tuffs of blonde hair. Annabeth carries a little baby with tuffs of black hair and grey-blue eyes.  
"Hey Kacey, do you know where Chiron, Nico, and Piper are?" Percy asks. I get up from my desk, a little smile slipping onto my face. The couple smiles.  
"Who are these little cuties?" I ask. Annabeth passes the black tuffed one to me. The baby is very calm.  
"The one you are holding is Selena," she tells me.  
"This little princess warrior is Zoe," Percy tells me, bouncing Zoe in his arms.  
"Pretty names," I say, bouncing Selena in my arms. She giggles. Her eyes hold a little determination. She goes to grab the hoof-print necklace on my neck. I pass her back to Annabeth.  
"Also, could you page Eva?" Percy requests.  
"And page Justin F?" Annabeth asks.  
"Of course!"  
I text Eva to find Justin, I text Nico to find Piper and to come to my office.  
I trot over to my drawer to grab a pamphlet.  
"Chiron wanted me to give you this," I tell them as I pass the pamphlet to Percy.  
"He also sent you a present. Did you get it?"  
Percy scans the pamphlet with the curiosity of a child. Annabeth and I chuckle.  
"Yes and we are very grateful for it," Annabeth sincerely tells me "it will certainly help Percy play with them."  
Once Eva and Justin get here, I decide to go train.

A lot of people think that centaurs aren't warriors. That only the Demigods can be warriors, but they are wrong. I grab my sword, suit up in armor, and strut proudly to the training arena. As usual, I get some stares.  
Mitchell meets me there, all dressed up in his armor, his sword deep in the poor training dummy.  
"Poor dummy, never got a chance..." I tease.

Diana’s POV  
A forest; I am lost in a forest. I don't know where the forest is, who/what is here with me, but I do know one thing; whatever is in the forest doesn't like me. The trees look dark, their branches crooked and bent, with dark unpleasant leaves. The ground looks like frozen mud, with a layer of brown pine needles on top. I smell death and rot. A slight breeze blows through every few seconds, chilling me to the bone.  
"Cold?" Sandra says from about an inch behind me. I jump, startled by her, and fall to the ground. Her face is full of malice. She pulls out a needle with that weird golden liquid she has injected into me before. Sandra advances, I crab crawl backwards until I hit a tree.  
"Hold still," she cackles. She takes the needle and stabs it into my torso. I scream.  
"SANDRAAAAA!"  
When I open my eyes, Sandra isn't standing there. It's Joselyn.  
"You have been a bad girl, trying to escape," she slurs. Joselyn takes her belt off, transforming it in to whip, and pulls back the whip to a ready position.  
"No..." I whimper.  
I hear the snap of it against my skin, but no pain comes.  
"BOO!" Eva exclaims from in front of me. I get up, despite the pain in my back, and run unknowingly into the forest. I am relieved when I get to the edge of the forest. Taking a random direction I turn right. I am just able to stop myself from falling off a cliff. I look left and right, looking for signs of danger; my breaths heaving, my legs throbbing. Suddenly, a force from behind me pushes my back. I fall over the cliff, into the water below. The last thing I see is Eva, Sandra, and Joselyn waving at me menacingly before everything goes black.

I am back in the forest. Greg sits on a nearby branch in the tree I have been taking refuge on. I eat an apple whilst Greg tries to keep me warm.  
"Who were those girls and why do they keep coming after me?" I ask. When the darkness left, I was in this tree with Greg, both of us soaking wet. He summons a long towel and wraps it around me.  
"You don't remember them?" he sounds surprised.  
"Not exactly. I remember their names. That's it."  
"Well, they are all dangerous they just want to hurt you," Greg snaps.  
"Listen to your older brother. Ugene is the only one that loves you."  
A rustle comes from a nearby branch.  
"You're wrong," a voice says. A guy with curly black hair comes out from the shadows. He is around 5ft 7in, is almost as pale as me, has a kind, fearless demeanor to him, and piercing navy blue eyes.  
"All Ugene wants to do is hurt you, remember?" he says directly to me. I shake my head 'no'. The guy jumps onto my branch. He leans in close and without my consent kisses me on the lips. It flashes through my mind; Ugene abusing me, whipping me, stabbing me with the oyster shucking knife, and having dual personalities.  
"I remember," I say once we split. "I remember Ugene abusing me." I look at him. "Who ARE you exactly?"  
The guy looks taken back by my question.  
"I'm Aelix, Aelix Phillips?!" he says with strain and slight pain to his voice.  
"Doesn't ring a bell." I shrug.  
"N-Not one bell?" He stutters. I think for a minute.  
"No. Not one," I firmly tell him.  
"We've been dating for Four months!" Aelix exclaims.  
"That's awkward..." Greg puts in.  
Aelix glares at him.  
"You don't remember the dance? Kissing in front of the Aphrodite cabin? Our picnic?" Aelix doubtingly exclaims.  
I think real hard; he sounds like I am something special to him. I mentally chuckle because I will never be anybody's special someone with all of my problems and insecurities.  
"Sorry." with that, he disappears.  
"He was cute, and sounded sincere" I say to Greg. He laughs.  
"Cute?" Greg spits.  
"That's a funny one," he says. A deep rumbling resounds in the forest causing everything to shake violently. I fall out of the tree, landing on the ground with a thud. Greg floats down to hover on my left side.  
"What's going on?" I yell over the noise.  
"Your worst nightmare!" he yells.

Eva’s POV  
"Hurry! Hurry! We got to go!" Aelix exclaims excitedly. I make sure Joselyn is stable before giving in to the son of Phobos. He practically is spewing excitement.  
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" I giggle. Cole helps Joselyn stay on her feet; she is a bit dizzy but is determined to help. Marie, Sandra and Nathan are currently placing Dae on Kacey's horse end. Nathan is the designated rider seeing that it is his shift of keeping the nightmares away. I focus on keeping up with Aelix.  
"Aelix, slow down!" I call.  
He stops dead in his tracks at the arena doors.  
"Aelix..?"  
Looking beyond him I see why he has stopped. The arena has scented candles lining the outskirts. There are weird markings in chalk all over the floor, a big symbol in the middle of the arena. There are chairs for us to sit in circling the big symbol. Most of them are full, 33 of Diana's brothers. Most of her brothers are either chewing bubble gum or drinking coffee. They are all talking to each other whilst Ginnifer orders around the Hecate cabin. I find my seat.  
I turn just in time to see Cole, Josie, Sandra, Ajax, and Ammon walk in. They all stop as Aelix and I did to take in the scene. I they all take seats, the only vacant ones near me.  
Everyone silences when Kacey enters with Dae, Nathan, and Marie. Mitchell enters after her.  
"Ready?" Kacey asks Ginnifer.  
"Yup," Ginnifer replies, her usual pep in her voice gone. "Please set the girl down in the middle of the circle then step out and grab a chair."  
Their movement echoes due to the silence and the type of floor we have. Marie helps Nathan get Diana off of Kacey.  
"How do you want her positioned?" Nathan asks.  
"Laying on her back, hands clasped on her stomach please," Ginnifer orders. Nathan gently sets her down on her back, folds her arms on her stomach, then they all grab a seat. Diana screams as if being murdered, startling almost all her brothers. Ginnifer walks into the middle of the circle, over to Dae with a tray of bowls.  
"Don't worry, this is a part of the ceremony," she tells us.  
We all watch as she dips her finger in a black substance that looks like face paint. She draws symbols on Diana's face, arms, legs, and stomach. She then stands up, grabs a big jar of-what looks like- glitter, and walks around the circle, spreading it and creating a barrier. She dips Diana's head in one of the bowls. Ginnifer collects the rest of her stuff and leaves the circle.  
"Everyone clasp hands with the people next to you," Ginnifer orders.  
I grab Joselyn and Sandra's hands.  
"Repeat after me," Ginnifer commands.  
Looking around I see all the Hecate kids are focused with their hands stretched to the direction of the circle.  
"We summon the powers of Hecate to help us with this spell. We summon the powers of Aphrodite to fill our hearts with love. We summon the powers of Apollo to help us heal our friend. We summon the power of Hypnos to wake our friend from this sleep!" Ginnifer projects. We all repeat.  
The dust starts to glow. It rises up to create a translucent dome around Diana, and when the dome is complete, a light falls upon our friend. In the dome, four figures stand gazing down upon Diana; two girls and two guys.  
"I, Hecate, will help," one of the girls says.  
"I, Apollo, will help," one of the guys says.  
"I, Aphrodite, will help," the other girl says.  
"I, Hypnos, will help," the other guy says.  
"KEEP YOUR HANDS CLASPED UNTIL IT'S OVER!" Ginnifer yells. I feel Sandra and Josie hold on tighter. An intense wind blows from the dome, a heat radiating off of it.  
"NOW, GO AROUND THE CIRCLE AND SAY ONE THING YOU LIKE ABOUT DIANA. WE WILL START WITH AMMON AND END WITH AELIX," Ginnifer yells. "AND YELL."  
The magic is too loud to just talk; we have to yell.  
"HER KINDNESS," Ammon yells. A ball of light shoots out of his chest; he looks stunned.  
"THAT'S NATURAL," Ginnifer yells.  
I zone out for the 33 brothers descriptions of Diana. When I zone back in, it is Sandra's turn.  
"HER OPTIMISM," she yells. Just like the others, a ball of light shoots out of her chest. Hers is bigger than Diana's brothers. I scramble for a word.  
"HER STRENGTH," I yell. A ball of light as big as Sandra's shoots out of my chest; I barely feel it though.  
"HER PERSONALITY," Josie yells the same sized ball of light shoots from her chest. I just realized I missed Ajax and Cole's contributions.  
"HER BRAVERY," Marie yells, the same sized light ball coming from her chest. Aelix is last.  
"EVERYTHING!" Aelix yells. A ball a bit bigger than mine shoots from his chest. It sends a shock through him and the big ball of light that is above Dae expands.  
"I command you, Diana Agatha Summers, to awake from your slumber!" the four gods in the dome chant. The ball of light pounds down into Diana. The Gods and the magic dome disappear.  
"NO ONE MOVE!" Ginnifer commands.  
A thick layer of suspense hangs in the air. Everyone leans in anticipation, never breaking the circle. Diana's body suddenly starts shaking. Violently. A deep rumble sounds from her then nothing. She is peaceful. We hear a groan.  
"Break the circle!" Ginnifer calls. We all let go hands in a creepy unison, Josie, Sandra, Aelix, Kacey, Martin, Justin, Marie and I rush to her side. We don't touch her. Diana sputters a cough before her eyes flutter open. She looks confused for a second as she scans the group. Her eyes grow scared; she screams as if we are murdering her.  
"Diana, calm down. We won't hurt you!" Kacey soothes. Diana curls up into a ball on her side, shaking. Due to her attire (white tank top and short shorts) I can see the multiple scars on her back. She starts to shiver.  
"Diana, are you cold? Please talk to us!" Kacey urges. Aelix quickly unzips his sweater and passes it to Kacey. Kacey offers it to Dae.  
"Here's a hoodie if you are cold," Kacey offers. Dae snatches it away, sits up to put it on, and after zipping it back up, she pulls the huge hood over her face, curls up into a new ball, and backs up into Justin. She jumps; startled at the fact she wasn't expecting someone there.  
"Dae, tell us what's wrong? Please?" Justin asks.  
In a quiet, hoarse, and scared voice, Diana says:  
"Who's Dae?"


	19. Examination and Change

Sandra’s POV

 

"What?" Josie says. Dae looks at Eva, Josie and I like we were responsible for murdering her family and she is the next victim. She attempts to stand up but she is too weak to do so. Diana collapses to the ground, still shaking. She covers her ears with her hands and screams.  
"Dae, please calm down!" Justin pleads.  
"Who is Day?" She yells. Kacey grabs her megaphone.  
"Everyone please leave. We have a situation and are dealing with it," Kacey orders.  
With complaints Diana's brothers leave.  
"Kacey?" I say finally finding my voice. "Perhaps we should go to a less public place?"  
Kacey nods.  
"What's on my arms?!" Diana exclaims. We all look at her.  
"What do you remember?" Joselyn asks, going in to touch her shoulder. Diana recoils from her.  
"Don't touch me!" She yells.  
"Dae- sorry, Diana, could you please tell us what's wrong?" I ask as soothingly as possible. She glares at me.  
"Or what? You're going to inject truth serum in me?" she looks to Eva "You're going to make me pass out and then look into my head" she looks at Joselyn "You're going to whip me until I spill out blood, and my secrets!"  
She tries to get up again, this time succeeding, but trips and falls into Martin's arms. She looks up at him with wild eyes.  
"Please, help me Martin!" she pleads.  
Martin nods and helps her stand.  
"Martin?!" Kacey exclaims.  
A vine taps my ankle. I look down to see that it wrote a message.  
"Guys..." I point out the vine.  
Meet us in the Hecate cabin. I am taking her to get cleaned up, and to try to see what she remembers  
-Martin  
Josie, Eva and I jump on Kacey's back so she can give us a ride, whilst the boys run.  
Ginnifer meets us there.  
"We have to see what they did to her," I state. "Could you use magic to figure that out?"  
Ginnifer responds by waving her hand over the bathroom door. She opens it to reveal not a bathroom but a staircase.  
"Let's go to the Hecate lab."  
"You have a lab?!" Aelix surprisingly exclaims.  
"You have a lab?" Kacey madly exclaims.  
Ginnifer giggles.  
"Yup. We shall wait for Martin and Diana to get here."

 

It takes Martin an hour to finally bring Dae down. Josie, Eva and I play a game of Settlers of Catan while we wait. Of course, Eva ends up winning. The boys are playing Clue while Kacey and Ginnifer discuss something in hushed tones. When they arrive, Diana is asleep shivering in Martin's arms, her skin clean, and her hair damp. She has leopard pajamas on. Her innocence makes me smile.  
"What took you so long?" Aelix asks but not in a rude manner.  
"My boyfriend's sister seriously hates my cabin," Mark says from behind them. "It took us half an hour to coax her into the bath and another 45 minutes to clean her, clothe her and then bring her here. She fell asleep in Martin's arms. We will warn you, she didn't remember why she hated the Aphrodite cabin, and she is like a baby clown fish in a room of sharks."  
Martin sets a sleeping Diana onto the bed the Hecate cabin has down here. She looks so innocent when she sleeps; she curls into a shivering ball, breathes softly, and for the most part stays in one position.  
"Greg, shut up," she moans.  
"Greg?!" a good portion of us exclaim.  
"Greg, not all of them are bad!" she sleep talks. Diana starts to cry in her slumber.  
"Who is Greg?" Marie asks.  
"Diana's dead older brother. He almost committed incest with her before he killed himself," Joselyn explains.  
Aelix, out of the blue, hops up with Diana on the bed and decides to cuddle with her. She relaxes visibly and snuggles in closer to him. Ginnifer looks at him with a pained expression.  
"I can't see what's up with her unless you move and let her go," Ginnifer tells Aelix. Aelix not-willingly gives up his position so Ginnifer can do her thing. Diana reaches out for him in her sleep, causing all our hearts to ache.  
She feels Diana's head a lot before chanting. She refers to a spell book a few times while chanting. A white light glows from Diana's head like an LCD projector. We gasp.  
Eva is currently holding Diana down as Joselyn whips her relentlessly. I heal her from the mark but I can tell that the pain wasn't taken away.  
"Told you!" Greg exclaims from somewhere in the vision.  
"That's why she was scared of us!" I figure out.  
In a daze Aelix goes to grab Diana's hand. We all yell at him not to but he doesn't listen. He collapses onto the ground upon contact. A few seconds after, we hear a voice in Dae's dream.  
"It's okay, there's no need to be scared," Aelix says from within the dream. Dae looks at him in wonder while Greg points to his open mouth, squeezing his eyes shut. Aelix passes THROUGH Eva, to grab Dae's hand.  
"I can't help being scared," she whimpers.  
Eva, Josie, and I disappear in Diana's dream. Diana looks around in surprise, curls up into a ball. I feel a hand slip into mine. Looking to my left I see Ajax with a look of sorrow on his face.  
"She is really strong," he whispers.  
"Yes, but I can," Aelix says in the dream "Do you not remember me?"  
Diana shakes her head.  
"Nope. Why are those girls torturing me, and then they seemed nice in real life?"  
Greg appears next to Dae.  
"It's because they befriended you first, then stabbed you like Ugene did; surprisingly and smoothly."  
At the mention of Ugene, Diana looks around scared.  
"He's not here, don't worry. He is having his own nightmares," Greg reassures her. The memory of Ugene stabbing her comes up, with Aelix, Greg and Diana as ghosts.  
The scene flips to a different memory. They are in what looks like a dog fight pit. All around them are Monsters and demigods, all cheering except for two people in the very back. A non-ghost Diana is sitting on the floor in the pit with her shirt off, her hair covering her chest. There is a tall man, whom switches between Ares and Cole, behind her. The man turns to the crowd.  
"What do you think the punishment shall be?" He calls, as if hosting a TV show. I can't hear any English but I do catch some Greek.  
"Death"  
"Rape"  
"Peel off her back"  
"shock torture"  
Some monsters snarl, grunt and moan. Apparently the guy can speak monster. The whole pit goes silent.  
"Some of you might not want to watch," Marie voices up.  
I watch anyway.  
The man takes out a whip. He maliciously looks at Diana.  
"Cole! What the hell?!" Josie exclaims.  
Cole looks horrified.  
"I never would do anything to harm the chica! I swear!" he exclaims.  
"You see how it’s switching between Cole and Ares?" Ginnifer interjects "That means someone tried to replace Ares with Cole in her memory, but it didn't work. When she wakes, she will probably be scared the most of you," The sound of a whip snapping against skin brings us back to the screen. We see ghost Aelix standing in front of Diana but it's no use. The cattail whip passes through him each time, no matter how much he screams and stands there. She just sits there and takes the abuse, not screaming out at all. The minutes drag out until Ares/Cole finally puts the whip down. He picks Diana up by the wrists, letting the blood flow down her back, her hair hiding her face.  
"Diana, do you have anything to say for yourself?" he calmly asks. Diana looks at him through the parts in her hair.  
"You can't break me," She hoarsely proclaims.  
He smirks.  
"If I can't, then your Fate will."  
With that, the image goes black.  
Most of us are too upset to cry. We stand in silence for a while. Ginnifer awkwardly mixes up a potion as we all let the memory sink in.  
Did that actually happen to her? I know Ugene whipped her but I didn't think Ares would; she was the anchor! He wouldn't hurt her if he needs her on his side. When did this happen? Did it happen before or after Ugene whipped her? I get out my book of healing medicine to look for something that heals scars, or at least numbs the pain.  
The screen lights up. Diana, Aelix, and Greg sit in a tree in a dark forest.  
"What do you think of the name Aaron Warrell?" Greg asks with a menacing look.  
"He was the best step-father character I ever had," she responds.  
Aelix tries to talk but at the wave of Greg's hand, he is gone.  
"That boy, Aelix? He is on Eva, Josie, and Sandra's side. Promise me you won't trust anyone except your brother Martin."  
"I promise."  
Aelix falls off the bed at the exact same time Diana wakes up. She looks around at us, terror taking over her peaceful features. She jumps off the bed, backing into a table. We approach her trying to be as passive as possible. She grabs a knife from the table behind her and puts it between her and us.  
"What did you do to me?" she demands, her expression hard and edgy.  
"Diana, please put the knife down. We don't want to hurt you," Eva calmly says. Diana glances at her.  
"No!" she extends her arm.  
"The second I put it down, you will just stab me!" Diana spits at us.  
Kacey motions for us to back away.  
"Diana, let's go see Mitchell, okay?" Kacey gently says. "I promise that I won't let anyone in this group hurt you."  
Diana nods but doesn't budge. Kacey looks at Ajax. He gruffly walks over, letting my hand go, disarms and picks up Diana. She tries to squirm free of his grasp but Ajax is too strong.  
"Come on Grapegirl, let's go," he says dryly. She finally wiggles free from his grasp.  
"I can walk," she states with annoyance.  
Ajax chuckles once before taking her hand. She clings to him like a five year old at their first family reunion. She stares at us as they pass, her big emerald green eyes boring into our souls.  
"Martin just wrote down a bunch of things Diana remembers." Kacey proclaims after they leave. She holds a clipboard.  
"She remembers the exact same events, but doesn't have the correct people. You know how she was whipped by Aaron Warrell when she was little? She thinks of Joselyn like Aaron. She thinks that you injected truth serum into her- don't know what memory that is from. Possibly the Capture the flag. She looks at Eva as Patrick looking into her head for all her secrets. And they somehow got rid of Aelix completely. She knows that her real mom is alive. She thinks that Cole whipped her in the dog pit. She thinks that all of the tortures Ugene did, was executed by you all. All except Ajax, Justin, Marie, Ginnifer and me. She thinks that Ugene killed Greg, and remembers him doing bad stuff to her. She is very scared and confused. Also she has that mark on her wrist that binds her to Ugene. Whatever you do to him goes to her tenfold and vice versa. She still is scared of needles, and now is afraid of hugging and physical contact like that. She believes that she is worthless and that's why people have done terrible things to her. She also remembers gaining powers from Hecate, but admitted that she will only use them when she has to." Kacey reads.  
"So, how do we gain her trust back? How do we break her curse?" Marie asks.  
Kacey thinks.  
"She has to kill Ugene," Eva pipes up. We all look at him in awe. "That or another unpleasant option. I remember reading about it in some textbooks."  
"So what should we do?" I ask.  
Everyone looks to Kacey, whom is currently texting.  
"Chiron says to get Apollo to see her. Pray to him, pleading for an answer, to heal her or even an analysis. We will somehow get her to kill her own brother."

 

Dad, I know you can hear me. I know this is the second time I prayed to you and hilariously it is about Diana. I was wondering if you could see what's up with her and tell me how to heal her.  
Love Sandra  
I smile at the Apollo shrine in the middle of the room. I put some spaghetti in the fire I made in Apollo's ceramic bowl, get comfy, and wait.  
Meet me at the place where you found out about your parentage, he says.  
Dramatic much?  
It takes me a while to remember. I didn't find out my parentage until seven months after arriving at Camp Halfblood.

 

Eva let's me ride on her Pegasus, Eldoris, to meet with my father. The restaurant I met him at got turned into an emergency center, ironically, called 'Sunshine Center'. The Mist makes it look like Eldoris is a bike. I pull up right to the center doors; give Eldoris a carrot, before entering. The Sunshine Center is five stories high, but I only see the first floor. I enter the Radiation Lab, which is approximately where our table was. When I walk in, it is empty except for the man examining the radiology equipment.  
"In walks my Sandra  
Wanting help from Daddy  
He'll help some Dae," Apollo poetically says.  
"Still into those Haikus I see," I breathlessly say. Apollo smiles at me before walking over and giving me a warm hug.  
"So, you want me to help out with Diana. You do know that the Fates have it set and it is best to let it play out," He says as a parent would.  
"Yes but you do know who exactly she is? She has gone against the Fates before when she lifted the curse from the army. An army that consisted of a lot of your children," I retort. Apollo thinks about it.  
"Well... I guess I could examine her, of course with her consent. Now before I do, I would like to know what you know."  
I tell him about how she remembers us all differently, the nightmares, how she forgets who Aelix is, and about her physical/emotional/ mental condition. I also tell him about her phobia of needles and anything to do with doctors.  
"So this isn't going to be as simple as I expected it to be..." he concludes. "I will repair the physical trauma before the emotional. You will need to be able to comfort her in a hug without hurting her."  
I squeal and hug him.  
"Thank you!"  
I lead my father out of the Sunshine Center, to Eva's Pegasus. Eldoris only lets Apollo ride because I give her three carrots. I absently wonder how heavy Apollo feels on her. Apparently not too heavy because she takes off in the sky without a struggle. We soar over the city and I can see Camp in a matter of minutes. We soar down to camp where Eva, Kacey, Josie, Marie, and Aelix are waiting. Aelix is pacing. Eva is tapping her foot impatiently. Kacey is biting her lip. Marie is picking at the gem of her shirt. Josie is twirling her skull pendant. They all relax when I land with Apollo. Kacey is the first to bow.  
"No need for that. Now, where is this Diana girl?" Apollo quickly says.  
"She thinks that you are the camp's main doctor, not a god, and is in the Apollo cabin. We evacuated it due to the amount of things that would have frightened her. Ammon is with her, making sure she doesn't try to run away." Kacey reports.  
"Why is Ammon with her?" I ask.  
"He is, in her eyes, a calming fellow. Turns out she is afraid of Ajax because of something that happened before we knew about her curse and she tried to run away while on their way to the Apollo Cabin," Kacey answers "You may assist your father. Will is also in the cabin with her, because she remembers him as the nice doctor."  
I show Apollo to his cabin. As soon as we walk into the doctor's office part of the cabin, I see Diana. She is sitting with her back against the wall, her knees up to her chest, and is reading a book titled 'City of Glass'. Ammon is sitting along another wall in one of the plastic chairs across from my brother Will.  
"Hello Diana!" Apollo warmly says. Diana glances up. "I am here for your check up."  
"Can I finish my chapter?" She asks innocently. Apollo chuckles.  
"Of course."  
Diana glances to me, her eyes filling with fear but when she speaks it doesn't show.  
"Why is SHE here?" she calmly asks.  
"To help if needed for anything you don't consent me to do," Apollo smoothly answers, smirking at me. I have to use all my will-power to take a seat beside Ammon and watch. My fingers itch to do something, anything to help heal her.  
Apollo gets the examination bed ready; making sure it's comfy, has tools hidden from Diana's sight, and has lollipops on the stand-by. It takes five minutes for us to realize that Diana is just delaying the inevitable by reading 'one more chapter'. Will is the first one to notice, and quickly points it out to me. He strides up to Diana, plucks the book out of her grasp, and walks away. Diana tries to reclaim it, but Will is too tall. He holds it up high over her head.  
"You can get your book back as soon as the check up is over, mmkay?" Will tells Diana as if she was a young child and he was telling her to eat her vegetables in order to get dessert. Diana stands there under the book, not moving.  
"You want a sucker?" Apollo asks warmly, coaxingly. Diana turns to face him and slowly nods her head.  
"Then come get this lovely nightgown to wear, put it on, and come take a seat here sweetheart," Apollo orders offering the nightgown. Diana trudges off to the bathroom, looking seriously pissed. When she comes back, she looks hesitant in the night gown.  
"Why is it..." she clears her throat "open in the back?" Diana asks. I feel sympathetic towards her.  
"I'm here to check up on your back, sweety," Apollo straight-up tells her.  
Diana looks around, her eyes landing on me before sliding to the floor.  
"S-S-Sandra?" she struggles to keep her voice from cracking "Could, um, you help me with something?"  
I try not to seem too eager; this is an opportunity to regain her trust. I nod. She gestures for me to come back to the change room and I oblige.  
When we get there, she turns around to reveal the multiple scars on her back and her under garments that are still exposed due to the gown not being done up.  
"I can't reach..." she states softly. I am careful not to touch her much as I do up all the buttons except the ones near her back, excluding the collar button. Diana softly thanks me before running off back to Apollo. When I get to the room, Diana is sitting on the exam table, tense like a cat with her exposed back facing Apollo. Every time Apollo goes to touch her back, she yelps a strangled cry that tears my heart. She begins to tremble.  
"Diana, tell me what hurts," Apollo softly asks.  
"My back is on fire," she whispers. Apollo nods and out of nowhere, two vials of liquid appear as well as an empty one. Apollo mixes the two liquids into the empty vial, causing the mixture to turn orange. Apollo hands it to her.  
"Drink this and the burning will stop," he instructs. Diana doubtingly obliges. As she puts the vial to her lips, she says:  
"This won't make me pass out, will it?"  
"No, I wouldn't do anything like that without your consent," Apollo tells her honestly. Diana tips her head back. I know when it hits her stomach because she collapses on the bed, still conscious.  
"What did you do?!" she exclaims.  
"I mixed a muscle relaxant with a nerve number. Still the whole 'consent' thing is in place. So, may I proceed in examining your back?"  
Diana thinks about this.  
"Yeah... But could you put me in a more comfortable position?" she defeatedly asks. Will and I help move her into a good position. Apollo examines the many long, narrow scars on her back. Some of the thicker ones I stitched are now healed for the most part. I stand behind my dad to observe his work. His gloved hands feel all areas of Diana's back, a light emitting from them. After touching all areas of her back, he takes some ingredients from the Apollo cabin medicinal cabinet.  
"Diana, do you want your scars to be all gone?" Apollo asks.  
"They won't be 100% gone, right?" she asks. We all furrow our brows.  
Why would she be afraid of them disappearing?  
"Not 100%. Why?" Apollo asks with as much curiosity as I had in my head. She sighs.  
"When I was younger, I was told that 'Scars are like tattoos but with better stories; stories of survival, of a pain overcome, and a gained strength'. The reason for my scars has made me emotionally and characteristically stronger than before." she answers.  
Woah...  
Without another word, Apollo starts applying the salve, wiping it away from her skin every few seconds.  
I just realize that Eva, Josie, Marie, Aelix, Nathan, and Kacey are outside watching and listening to everything. They beckon me to pretend I didn't notice them and I do as instructed. Ammon leaves to join them.  
"Sandra, can you hold this cloth to her back while I go get something?" Apollo asks. I nod.  
Diana jumps a bit at my touch, a sign that the mixture is wearing off a bit.  
"Do you trust me?" I ask her.  
"More than I did before," she cryptically answers. What did I do to get some trust? Was it when I helped her with her gown? When I helped her get comfy? What else do I need to do to gain her trust?  
Apollo comes back with a big bandage.  
"Diana, in order for your back to heal, you will have to wear a bandage for a little bit. You can pick three people to help," Apollo then raises his voice "I'm sure your gal friends wouldn't mind helping!"  
The group of watchers all blush.  
"Um, Marie, Sandra and Aelix... They can help," Diana says quietly. Will and Ammon exit as Marie and Aelix enter.  
"Why Aelix?" I ask. "Actually, why this group of people?"  
Diana looks me in the eyes.  
"Marie is the only person here whom I don't feel suspicious of, Marie trusts Sandra so I guess she is ok, and I feel that Aelix won't peak," she answers. Aelix smirks a little.  
"I won't? Alrighty then."  
Diana doesn't hear what Aelix says. We go into the change room, Aelix carefully carrying Dae. She is apparently feeling tingles in her legs. Aelix holds Diana upright while Marie and I wrap the bandage around her torso. We also wrap one around her wrist to hide the 'Bound' symbol. Aelix has a grin plastered on his face.  
"What are you smiling at?" I question.  
"This is the farthest I have gotten in our relationship..." he mutters. Diana looks at him incredulous.  
"We dated?" she exclaims.  
"We are dating," Aelix answers.  
Suddenly, Diana clutches her head and collapses to her knees.  
"SHUT UP!" she yells through gritted teeth. "SHUT UP!!!!!"  
We all kneel down to consult her.  
"What's wrong Diana?" Marie asks.  
"G-G-G-G-Greg," Diana stammers. "He won't shut up!"  
She rocks forward and backward, muttering under her breath. I sit down next to her, trying to get her to tell me what he is saying. Diana refuses to tell me.  
"Diana, can you try to block him out?!" I sternly ask.  
She shakes her head.  
"No. I've tried. But... He isn't just a voice anymore. He is standing in the corner telling me..." Her voice stops working.  
"Telling you what?" Aelix asks as if the suspense is killing him. Diana wipes the little tears she has in her eyes.  
"Nothing. Can I please put my regular clothes on now?" she softly asks, reminding me of a beaten puppy. I can't say no; apparently neither can Marie or Aelix.  
Aelix helps Diana to stand up, being careful not to accidentally touch an area she doesn't approve of. Marie and I help her put her pants on for she is a bit weak in the knees from Greg. Aelix steadies her (with his eyes closed) and keeps asking if we are done yet. The more bored and dramatic he sounds the more Dae giggles. Aelix leads Diana to a nearby chair, not daring to look at her. We give her the camp shirt Aelix got for her before everything happened. Diana hesitantly puts it on like if she does she is joining a cult. The orange shirt brings out her emerald green eyes. Diana takes her hair out of its braided bun. It falls to her hips.  
"OMG can I cut your hair?!" Marie asks excitedly.  
"Sure," Diana shrugs. "Just, can we not go to the Aphrodite cabin? I don't like it in there."  
"Yeah most of my siblings are pansycakes. Piper is pretty cool... Anyway, yeah we can totally do it somewhere else."  
Diana stands up, steadies herself, and gives us a weary smile.  
"Just a warning, your brothers probably will tackle you," I warn. Diana looks at me confused.  
"BrotherS? As in more than Martin and Ugene?"  
"Your half brothers... You do know that you are a child of Dionysus right?" Marie asks.  
"Yeah Dionysus is the father who brought me to you guys when I didn't behave," Diana admits, her voice cracking, her fearful eyes returning.  
"Well, you have 33 half brothers," Marie informs her, a bit too blunt in my opinion. We let that sink in for Diana and lead her to the check up area of the Apollo cabin. Eva, Josie, Nathan, Kacey, Apollo, and Will are sitting, waiting for us. Eva and Josie notice us first and stand up right away.  
"How are you?" They ask in unison. Diana stares at them like she saw a ghost.  
"I have 33 half brothers..." she mutters.  
"Only 30, now..." Kacey puts in. Diana looks at her oddly.  
"Did you miscount?" Diana asks. Kacey pauses before answering.  
"Yes. They were moving about last time we counted I must have counted three of them twice. My bad."  
I know Kacey is lying. Her brothers probably died on a quest. Diana nods.  
"So where are we cutting your hair?" Marie asks.  
"Ooh you're getting your hair cut?" Josie exclaims. Diana nods.  
"May we join?" Josie asks. Diana thinks about it.  
"I guess so. Where are we going to go?"  
I look at Kacey.  
"How about your office? Since it has a tile floor," I suggest.  
Kacey nods.  
"That would be fine."  
We lead Diana to Kacey's office. She stays close to Marie, seeing that she trusts Marie. Marie whispers something to Diana. Dae nods, and looks at us wearily.  
"Heey can you girls run ahead and set up? Diana and I are going to grab something from my cabin," Marie looks at me with an 'I'll tell you later' look.

 

As soon as we get to Kacey's office, Josie breaks down into tears.  
"She thinks we tortured her!" she exclaims. I give her some tissues from Kacey's desk.  
"But at least she doesn't think Ugene is good. We don't exactly know what Patrick did to her; maybe Ginnifer can figure it out? We should probably tell Diana that we truly mean no harm and try to get Martin, Nathan and Marie to back us up," Eva rations. "For now, let's just set up the room. We shouldn't scare her too much with different people running tests and such." Eva wisely says.  
She looks at me.  
"Also, get your cabin to not inject her with anything unless it's life-saving. Or like to help her sleep at night, or something like that. When they do, they have to tell her exactly what will be done."  
I text this to Will.  
Joselyn dries her eyes.  
"I really wish Ugene could be killed by us without killing Diana," she grumpily says. Josie pushes Kacey's desk to the side. Eva and I join in. I put the couch to the side, Eva sets up the chair for Dae, Joselyn sets up a table for Marie's items. Once finished, we start talking more about Diana, but I don't really say anything. Eva and Josie theorize what Patrick did, compiling a list, when I feel my phone buzz. I have a text from Marie.  
Hey just had a little chat with Diana. She told me that she is confused by you guys. She remembers you as people who tortured her when she misbehaved. She admitted that she remembers Iris messaging me and then when her father found out, Joselyn arrived to fulfill the punishment. But by the way you are all acting, she believes that you are nice people, which is conflicting. Greg is apparently telling her not to trust us. Diana said that Greg is in her head as well as three new voices (who I am guessing are her three dead brothers). She is getting headaches due to the voices. Diana doesn't remember Aelix but found him charming.  
She told me that while we were helping her get dressed, Greg was pointing out her flaws and told her things like that she was fat, is a stupid bitch for semi-trusting you, told her to stop failing at everything.  
We are on our way now.  
-Marie  
I immediately read this to Eva and Josie. Eva doesn't seem to have much of a reaction; Josie on the other hand, punches the table we were going to use for Marie's supplies. It splits in half, and Josie cries out either in pain or rage. Possibly both.  
"Ffffff," Josie cries but doesn't finish the word. I toss her some ambrosia. Someone knocks on the door.  
"One sec!" I call. I throw Josie some bandage for her hand.  
"Make sure Diana doesn't see any blood," Eva calls.  
I open the door with a smile plastered on my face. Diana is hiding behind Marie with her infamous 'deer in the headlights' look, her raven curls almost completely hiding her face. Marie simply walks in, dragging a scared Diana with her.  
"Sit down Diana and relax," Marie nicely orders. Diana obliges, warily glancing at us. I notice that Josie has her injured hand behind her back with Eva sitting behind her doing up the bandage.  
"How short should I cut it?" Marie asks us.  
"I want it here," Diana requests, gesturing to a little past her armpits. Marie measures.  
"Sandra, how about you play us some music?" Marie suggests. I grin before taking out my clarinet and some sheet music. I know most of them off by heart, so I watch Marie starts cutting Diana's hair. She cuts it evenly, each time taking a second to brush the hair off.  
"Marie?" Diana voices without moving.  
"Yeah?"  
"Could we donate my hair to mortals with Cancer?"  
Josie, Eva, and I look up in awareness at this.  
"Sure, whatever you want." Marie replies, totally in the zone of cutting Diana's hair. Marie sets down her scissors next to her makeup bag (which I have learnt actually contains throwing knives disguised as make up). Marie collects the hair in an envelope and leaves.  
"I had hoped she would do that," Diana darkly says. Suddenly a vine shoots out of both of the plants in Kacey's office; one wraps around the door knob, making sure that it is locked while the other wraps around me. I am too shocked to do anything, to think. Diana grabs the bag of throwing knives.  
"Diana! Put the bag of knives down please," Eva calmly orders. Diana laughs hysterically. Josie slowly approaches Dae, being cautious.  
"Last time I checked, you NEVER put your weapons down. No matter how loud I screamed. Or how much" her voice shakes "Or how much blood was on the floor."  
A vine springs from one of the plants and wraps around Joselyn. It drags her to a spot against the wall.  
"You know, I recall this one time when Joselyn was whipping me," Diana venomously tells "I was shackled to the floor. You had whipped me so much, and I bled so much that the whole cellar floor was covered in red crimson blood. Do you know what it is like to lay in a puddle of your own blood?" Diana now has tears in her eyes, as do we. Eva tries approaching Diana. Dae attacks Eva, pinning her to the floor with a knife to her throat.  
"You will now."  
Diana readies the knife for the blow.  
"Diana, you are not a murderer. Please, don't let them take over! Diana, I know you are in there just hear me. HEAR ME!" Eva starts out calm but her voice rises to one of distress and urgency. Eva has tears coming out of her eyes. Diana looks down at Eva in shock and confusion.  
"Diana push them out of your mind and see that I, we, truly mean no harm"  
Diana's raised arm is shaking violently.  
"Diana..." Eva defeatedly whispers.  
Diana throws the knife at the vine locking the door, causing it to wither away. The vines around Joselyn and I let us go. Diana collapses to the ground beside Eva, shaking uncontrollably while Eva, Josie and I come to our senses.


	20. Meeting for Memory

A/N: Shout out to ChameleonQueen for inspiring me to post these next two chapters. I have only the first two chapters of the last installment of this fanfiction trilogy so let me know if you would like them posted! I will warn you, I have not written anything beyond that, they are unedited, and i will not have time TO write due to school. Thanks for reading :)

Eva’s POV

Just like we predicted, Diana gets tackled by her brothers as soon as we get to the cabin area. She literally is at the bottom of a doggie pile. She yelps at the impact.  
We-Ammon, Aelix, Joselyn, Sandra, Nathan, Marie and I- remove her brothers. I help a terrified Diana to her feet; we turn around to see her brothers in a line. They all individually give her hugs. Derrek gives her the biggest hug of all, picking her up and spinning her around. He kisses her temple in a brotherly fashion, a stream running down his face. A few others do something similar. Diana looks a bit overwhelmed but has a small smile on her otherwise scared face. One brother tackles her to the ground. Aelix and I help the guy off of her, help her up, and then tell the sons of Dionysus no more tackle hugs. They show Diana the bunk that belongs to her (she can't remember), along with her clothes. Diana grabs a pair of purple sneakers to replace her sandals, ties up her hair, and goes to the bathroom.  
Meanwhile, Marie introduces herself and reports to Derrek what Diana remembers and what has changed.  
"Does she... Remember me? I couldn't really tell," Derrek painfully asks.  
"I don't know. We could test this out though," Marie replies. At this moment Diana walks out of the bathroom.  
"Diana, how many siblings’ names can you remember?" I ask. She stares at me blankly.  
"Ugene, Martin, Derrek, but Derrek is just a half brother." Diana tells us. "That's all I can remember."  
Derrek smiles.  
"What do you remember about Derrek?" I ask.  
Diana thinks about this.  
"He is my half brother. Same age as me. Dionysus is his father, hence the half," She looks at him. "Also that he was at the doctor's house. He was in a drunken stupor while a friend of his healed Marie when Joselyn poisoned her," she replies.  
"How's your drinking problem going?"  
We all stare in shock.  
"Good," Derrek squeaks. "I'm absolutely over it."  
I mentally applaud Derrek and how he improvised so quickly.  
Diana smiles in that warm and cheery matter I missed.  
"That's awesome Derrek. Must have been tough for you. I am so proud!"  
Diana hugs him. I feel a hand grasp onto my arm, pulling me away from the group. Ammon brings me to the back of the cabin.  
"What are we going to do? How are we going to get her memories back?"  
He looks worried.  
"I don't know. Ginnifer is trying to figure out the spell."  
Ammon looks over my shoulder and his.  
"I received a message from Chris," Ammon whispers.  
I raise my eyebrows; he presents me with the note. I look at it.  
It reads:

Dearest Ammon and Evaline,  
I know that you wish to relieve Diana from her memory confusion. Let me tell you that all of your efforts have been in vain. You know that the only way to get her back to normal is for her to kill Ugene or... Submit to his urges. But there are other ways.  
I wish to reclaim my wellness. Please, come with the girl. Young Reilly must come as well. Bring no one else, and we promise no tricks.  
Meet me at the Envis house.  
Sincerest, Christopher Nealson

I look at Ammon.  
"What would he want with Reilly?" I ask. Ammon shrugs.  
"Not a clue. But we shouldn't trust him," Ammon warns.  
I think. His intentions could be true, even though it is Chris. He might want to be good; being confined to one living area can do that to a person. Is there a chance that he can actually be good? But why does he want Reilly? Why does he just want Reilly, Ammon, Diana, and me?  
"I think we should go there to meet with him, see if his intentions are what we think," I finally say. "How about we magic Diana to be small enough to fit in a backpack, bring her along like that and bring King. If his intentions are true, we will return Diana to normal. If not, you teleport us out. Ok?"  
Ammon nods.  
"That sounds good. What about getting Diana to agree to trust us? Or getting Reilly to come?"  
"I guess we will have to see. I'll work on Dae; you work on your brother."  
With that we enter the main area. Derrek and Martin are the only brothers left.  
"What do you want to do?" Josie asks Diana.  
Diana looks at Marie with a glimmer in her eye.  
"So... Where do we train?"

Diana has seriously changed. Before Ugene kidnapped her, she could barely do one chin up. Now, she does 100 of them without much difficulty. Aelix motivates her to do more by giving her a prize every 10 she does. He gives her a Smartie. We all train with her in the forest, Joselyn doing push-ups on the tree stump, Sandra doing cardio around the circle, Marie doing sit ups, I am hanging from a sturdy branch of a tree by my knees. Ammon makes sure I don't fall out of the tree by sitting on my legs. I do a sit up; when I reach the top, he gives me a high five. Looking around, I see Ajax sitting on the ground eating a bag of chips while watching Sandra; Cole is tinkering with something; Nathan is doing sit ups with Marie. Every 10, they give each other a peck on the lips.  
"How are we going to get her to come with us?" Ammon asks. I go down and make sure no one is eavesdropping.  
"I think we should tell her that we want her to observe an account with one of her conspirators. We will explain the backpack thing and hope she agrees. We could tell her it’s life or death; technically it's not a lie because if this encounter doesn't go as planned, then she will have to kill Ugene," I reply.  
"And I will work on my brother," Ammon says. He jumps down from the tree and runs off. I switch to doing chin ups as well. After about 50 of them I really start to feel the burn. I take a break, deciding to take a drink of water. I see a bunch of grapes in Diana's hair. Before she got kidnapped, the grapes were big, juicy purple. Now they are small green.  
"Dae- I mean Diana, you do know that grapes are growing in your hair," I point out. She jumps down from the tree, looks at me confused, puts a hand to her hair, and her eyes widen.  
Didn't that mean she was hungry?  
"Diana are you hungry?" Aelix asks.  
She looks at him then at me.  
"No," she lies. Joselyn and Sandra decide to join in.  
"Really?" Joselyn doubtingly asks.  
Marie and the rest of the boys join in. I take note of how Diana's hands start to shake.  
"Really! Now let’s keep going," Diana storms past us and starts doing sit ups.  
"Greg has had a big influence on her lately," Marie tells us.  
I look at her.  
"Let me try to talk to her. I think I know what to do," I say. As I expected no one objects to the notion. They go back to working out. I approach the daughter of Dionysus and sit down next to her. Diana tenses up but doesn't run; she continues to do sit ups.  
"I'm sorry I almost stabbed you..." she awkwardly apologizes. I don't know what about it is funny but I start to laugh. Diana glares at me.  
"Do you... Like getting stabbed or something....?"  
"Ha ha no. Sorry. I came over here to talk to you about a note I received," I tell her.  
"Does it have to do with the cutting?!" Diana scaredly asks. I look at her oddly and notice something peculiar; Diana is wearing a long sleeve shirt. It makes me want to embrace her in a hug.  
"N-no," I stutter. Diana looks like she just accidentally told me a big secret. "It's from one of your conspirators. They want us to come so we can make peace, but we know they don't. Ammon, Reilly, and I are going to see if they mean business, and were wondering if you would like to come. You would be totally hidden in a backpack, shrunken down by Ginnifer."  
Diana thinks about this. It's like I can see the little clogs working, turning, trying to decide what to do.  
"They want to start a war in which you are the key. If they have you on their side it would mean innocent lives will be lost. Also it might help with some of your memory confusion..." I coax. She sits up.  
"I'll go." she concludes. I try not to show my excitement. She gets up to leave; I grab her right wrist. There are red scratches on her wrist that I can see. The Chinese 'bound' symbol is faded a bit, the red marks making it smeared. I gesture to it with my eyes before meeting her emerald green ones. I notice that the rim of her iris's have a vibrant purple rim.  
"If you need to talk about anything, I'm here," I say. I hope she gets how much meaning I am putting into my words. She pulls her wrist back.  
"Thanks..."  
With that she runs off. Nathan runs after her- an order by Kacey that an ally must be with her at all times. It's Nathan's shift.  
"Guys, did you see her eyes?" I ask once I know Dae is out of earshot.  
"You mean the fact that she is almost always glassy-eyed or that her irises are starting to turn purple?" Aelix asks.  
"The iris one," I tell him.  
"Yeah. Do you know what that's all about?" Aelix asks.  
We all stare at him.  
"Is it not in one of your textbooks?" I ask.  
Aelix shakes his head.  
"I don't believe so. I can go check though..."  
"I'll come with you," I say.  
"I'll come as well," Marie voices up.  
Aelix looks at her oddly before we jog off.  
The Phobos cabin isn't like I remembered it. The light inside is mostly natural, the bed sheets are just plain black, and each bed comes with a shelf underneath. He has a bunch of textbooks; one on curses, one on Greek monsters, one on the Gods, and a few in different languages.  
"You speak Hebrew?" Marie asks.  
Aelix smiles.  
"Hebrew, French, Spanish, German......and obviously English"  
We gawk at him.  
"Really?" we both exclaim.  
"Ja."  
We look at him with blank stares. He passes us the English books while chuckling.  
"Yes, yes I can." He grabs the non-English books.  
"Read those and see if there is anything that can help us; either with her eyes or her memory," Aelix instructs. I feel a buzz in my pocket. Checking my phone I see that Ammon has sent me a text:

Reilly said he'll go. Nathan brought Dae to Ginnifer. Meet us on the beach.

I shoot my phone to my pocket.  
"I have to go meet Ammon. It's urgent. I'll read them later," I call whilst making my way to the door.  
"Urgent? Does it have to do with Diana?" I hear Aelix call. Unfortunately I am too far away to answer.  
I run to my cabin to set my books down at my bunk. I knock before entering the blue, nearly vacant cabin in case Annabeth and Percy are in there. Steward answers the door.  
"I heard Diana is back," he greets. I nod as I pass him, focused on my bunk.  
"How is she?"  
"Good," I reply, not registering what he is saying. I set them down, grab Tsunami, tie my hair up, and grab my shield (a watch).  
"You should take her swimming," Stew suggests.  
"Maybe. I gotta go," I quickly tell him.  
"Almost ready?"  
I jump at the sound of Ammon's voice. Turning, I see he is at the door with Reilly. Ammon has a backpack. I join them.  
"So how are we getting to her house?" I ask. Ammon looks at me with a wondrous atmosphere.  
"The fastest way would be Teleportation. Or for you to create an air bubble for us while you just... Do your daughter of Poseidon thing."  
I link my arm with his.  
"Teleportation." I choose. Reilly also links arms with Ammon. As if a bubble is blown around us, the outside blurs into a big blob of colors. Reilly gasps (I'm guessing his ears popped). The bubble pops soundlessly revealing a bare house. We are standing on the road, facing the house. There is a for sale sign on the lawn. It looks vacant. I feel Ammon grab my hand.  
"Ready?" he asks. I nod.  
Chris waits for us in the kitchen at the other end of the hallway. His hair is dyed purple, and he is dressed like a stereotypical magician. Patrick is behind him still in khakis and a button up shirt. They look up from their conversation; Patrick beams; Chris smiles in a pleasant evil manner. No one else appears to be with them.  
"Welcome, friends," Chris welcomes.  
"We are not your friends," I say coolly "We have come to see if you mean business."  
Chris and Pat exchange glances.  
"Everything I do is business," Patrick says.  
I cross my arms over my chest.  
"What do you want?" Ammon snarls.  
Chris smiles and he gets up. He struts over so that they are face to face. Chris is as tall as me.  
"Ah, Ammon. Still protective I see..."  
"CHRISTOPHER! Enough screwing around!" Patrick orders. He looks at me.  
"Did you bring Diana?" he asks with a weird and out-of-place hopefulness. I scoff.  
"No!"  
His eyes go cold.  
"We wanted to fix her memory," Chris says whilst circling the group.  
"Fix it or tamper with it?" I demand.  
"Fix it. You see there was a glitch when my father cast the spell. We don't know how it happened, but the spell we used was supposed to allow us access to her mind and to control it. We were only able to put an influence on it."  
"Greg," I say.  
"And others...He is the exact image of what Diana didn't want to become, hence why he is in her mind. It's not actually the ghost of Greg; she is seeing a figment of her imagination and our spells. The link has a limited amount of strength. The more scared and frightened Diana is, the more power an influence Greg has on her. The more love, the less control," Patrick explains.  
So basically in order to stop the influence, we have to help her not feel any negative emotions. Once the tether is broken she will get her memories back. Love... As in sisterly love? Love from her mate? Or a love of herself? Possible all three? We can't push her too much, that will just stress her out. How can we get Diana to warm up to us when she thinks that we all tortured her?  
"But there is a catch," Chris says, drawing me out of my thoughts.  
"If she breaks the bond and regains her memories, she will be doing exactly what Ares wants. We swore on the Styx not to tell anyone who isn't on our side,"  
Chris says with a smile dancing on his lips.  
"So your options are either give her to us, get her to break the bond, or get her to kill Ugene. Unless of course you figure out the fourth and fifth option" Chris concludes.  
"Why am I here?" Reilly asks, sounding bored.  
"YOU are neutral, a possible ally. Also, you have something that Lord Ares wants." Chris answers cryptically.  
"What's so special about me?" Reilly asks. I crack a smile at that. Chris and Patrick glance at each other.  
"Lord Ares believes that you have the potential of being a well soldier, sniper, and thief for him."  
Ammon holds up a cell phone.  
"He hasn't mastered his powers yet," at this, the two look at Ammon. Chris laughs; Pat looks surprised. "Aelix will be training him."  
Ammon offers the phone.  
"Here's your phone back."  
Patrick snatches it.  
"Where is Diana?" Chris asks. I observe him. His hair is turning red, as is his face.  
"At camp Halfblood, being looked after," I answer.  
"And Ugene?"  
"He is still passed out in a holding cell much like yours. Only, his doesn't do a trade," I inform him.  
"You lied," Chris accuses "Diana is here. I can sense her body."  
"That's a little creepy, saying you can sense her body, bro," Reilly comments with a chuckle.  
"Where IS SHE?!" Chris yells his temper flying out the window. I hear a shuffle behind me but dismiss it.  
Black magic dances on Chris' hand, forming a knife. Chris launches it at Reilly, but at the last second, it changes direction. I shut my eyes so I don't see it enter my head. Nothing. I hear a gasp. I slowly open my eyes, one at a time to find the black magic knife stuck in a purple shield made of magic. Chris and Patrick look startled at this.  
"Not... So... Fast!" Diana breaths heavily. Her hands are up, feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent, her eyes filled with determination and observation.  
"Purple magic?!" Patrick exclaims.  
"That's right! I get to keep it if I use it for the goodness of the gods! And opposing you is definitely an act of good," Diana says, still breathing heavy.  
"That's not possible!" Pat exclaims. "People rarely get purple magic!"  
I remember Ginnifer saying something about that...

"You can tell their rank and side by the color of magic they have. Black is the highest of the evil division and purple is the highest of the good people division," Ginnifer informed us.  
"Unfortunately, Patrick is in the evil division." Kacey continued. "And unfortunately there is only one Type of person, besides the gods, who can kill him SO DON'T EVEN TRY. You can hurt him ALMOST to death but not completely. Only a person with Purple magic can kill him, and we don't have any of those."

THAT's RIGHT! Only a person with purple magic can defeat and/or kill someone with black magic. Diana has purple magic... She can kill Chris and Patrick. They both have a worried expression on their faces, knowing what she is capable of. The thing is, does she have the nerve (or stomach) to do that?  
"I thought you said her magic was pink?!" Chris hisses at Patrick.  
"When I was training her, it was pink!"  
"I shielded you from seeing it," Diana remarks.  
Chris looks deviously at the daughter of Dionysus. Suddenly Diana screams; she grabs her head and collapses to the ground. I am the first to her side.  
"What did you do to her?" I yell over Diana's screams. Chris smirks.  
"Let's just say I added a few more voices into her head," He yells. I feel a dark presence next to me; turning my head, I almost scratch my forehead on another black arrow. There is purple magic holding it in place. Diana grabs hold of my arms. She stops screaming.  
"Help me up!" she whispers. I don't register it for a few seconds. I support most of Diana's weight and she trembles as she rises. She waves me off and steps in front of us.  
"Patrick! Chris!" She yells. They look at her in amazement and awe. There is a spooky silence.  
"Go screw yourselves," she calls whilst waving her hand in an arch. A purple mist avalanche swallows the two magicians and disappears. Diana collapses to the ground; Reilly catches her.  
"What was that?!" Ammon exclaims. Diana is sweating and is breathing like she just sprinted 10km.  
"I sent them to somewhere in Russia. With their magic they won't be around for a few days. Traveling magic and the defense magic takes a lot of energy. I'm not able to walk right now," Diana informs us.  
Reilly picks her up, being surprisingly gentle.  
"So any of you know why they want me?" He asks.  
"I can find out," Diana says. Reilly's eyes light up.  
"Really?"  
Diana nods. She places a hand flat against his chest. She shuts her eyes in order to concentrate.  
"I'm going to need a bit of rest after this," Diana tells us.  
"That's fine," I tell her, fully entranced at what she is doing. She is silent for about ten minutes.  
"You have two powers that Ares finds valuable," Diana finally says. She is getting paler than she already is.  
"You can fly and..." her eyes start fluttering. Reilly lightly slaps her face.  
"AND WHAT?!" he desperately asks her.  
"You can pass any boundary..." Diana mutters.  
"What the hell does that mean?!" Reilly exclaims. Diana shakes her head.  
"TELL ME!"  
I calmly approach him. Diana obviously doesn't have enough energy to even talk, and he might squeeze her to death. I gently take Diana away from Reilly. Her eyes are closed but she is awake. I gently set her down on the couch in her living room. She doesn't have the energy to be scared of me.  
"Ammon; go fetch some grapes! Or wine!" I call. I fill up a glass of water, place it gently to her mouth, and after giving me a suspicious glare she accepts the water. The water gives her some energy.  
"If you don't trust me, why did you save me?" I ask.  
"I don't like seeing death. And because you seem nice. I can't help that I'm afraid of you; it's just an instinct," she rasps. I hear footsteps behind me.  
"I brought the grapes," Ammon tells me "And if that doesn't work I found a bunch of wine."  
I grab a bag of grapes. I pluck a few off and try to get Diana to eat it but she recoils. I give her a stern look.  
"It'll help."  
Diana snatches a grape, plops it in her mouth. As soon as she swallows, her color comes back, and she starts to stand up.  
"Diana, I brought some Nectar. Do you want some?" Ammon asks. I give him a kiss on the cheek.  
"That's a nice offer but she's not wounded," I gently tell him. Ammon blushes. Looking down at his toes he says:  
"Oh yeah..."  
"GUYS! THERES A SWEET BASEMENT!" Reilly calls from someplace in the kitchen. Ammon gives the bag to me so he can piggy back Dae. She falls off a lot (lack of energy to hold on) so he resorts to carrying her bridal style while she eats grapes.  
In the kitchen, under a fancy rug, is a wooden door. At this point, Diana is able to walk. She let's go of Ammon and confidently approaches the stairs.  
"I don't remember these being here..." she confusedly says.  
Isn't this the stairs that lead to the room Diana got tortured in?  
She shrugs, dismissing the thought.  
I follow in behind her. Diana looks around in horror.  
"No... I can't believe it..."  
She turns around halfway through the room.  
"Are you okay Diana?" I ask cautiously.  
She backs up against the wall, eyes filled with terror and recollection, hands trembling.  
"Don't hurt me!" She squeals.  
I put my hands up in defense.  
"I'm not here to hurt you!"  
Reilly jogs over with a wicked looking whip.  
"Look at this!"  
Diana jumps.  
"Did you bring him to help you?! You hold me down while he whips me over and over again?" she says, her voice trembling. Her eyes don't lose contact with mine.  
"I promise you I won't do that..." I calmly say. I take out my sword and throw it to the other side of the room.  
"See? No sword," I say.  
"Eva there are some interesting stuff over here..." Ammon calls. Looking over to him I see a wall of torturing devices. He is over near a bunch of syringes that have labels and weird colored liquid inside. Reilly is observing them too. He picks up one of the smaller ones off of the wall. When I take a closer look, all of the torture devices are stained with-  
"My blood; you know it's on every one of them," Diana croaks.  
Reilly tries to approach her.  
"Diana... We won't use any of those on you..."  
Diana backs up to the corner. Reilly goes right up to her.  
"Don't hurt me..." she whimpers. Reilly touches her gently.  
"I'm not going to hurt you."  
"THAT'S WHAT THEY ALL SAY!!!" She screeches, swatting him away.  
"You're very tense," Reilly observes. I see the tiny needle in the hand he isn’t touching Diana with.  
"Reilly..." I warn. Too late; he pushes the needle in exactly how it is supposed to go in. He doesn't inject all of the medicine, just enough to make someone of her size relax and a tad loopy.  
"Reilly! She has a fear of injections!" Ammon exclaims.  
"Well, now we can take her out of the room without resistance. Beforehand, she would just run away," Reilly says as he picks her up. She mumbles something, trying to hit Reilly as hard as she can but only able to pat her hand on his chest.  
"We aren't here to hurt you Diana. We are going to go back to camp so that we can hopefully cure your memory," he tells her as if she is a scared little child. I look at Ammon; he gets what I am trying to say.  
"Reilly, can you report to Kacey what just happened? Eva will take care of Diana and I will take pictures of this place," Ammon orders.  
Diana mumbles some more; Reilly doesn't respond. He hands Dae over to me. I carefully carry her up the stairs to see if there is anything that can help her; an antidote maybe? Diana is trying to stay awake. She blinks and moves her head around as if searching for something.  
"Do you know an antidote?" I gently ask.  
"Naw," she mumbles. She looks relaxed and ironically frightened.  
"Diana, I'm not going to hurt you. Have I hurt you yet? No. I don't plan on hurting you. Same goes for Joselyn, Sandra, and everyone except Ugene at camp. We have had lots of opportunities to; haven't you thought about that?"  
Diana nods. At this point Ammon enters the living room.  
"Alright, let's get out of here. I snagged a few of the weapons and put them in my bag. Reilly told Kacey. Diana is getting her own room in her cabin. Turns out, the Dionysus cabin has a secret drug lab underneath. They are cleaning it out." Ammon reports. He pulls me in to whisper in my ear.  
"Also there is a schedule for us taking shifts. Aelix and Nathan have the most due to their ability to comfort her the most."  
Speaking of comfort, didn't Diana say that the smell of the ocean helps to calm her down? When she was in the infirmary after she woke up, I helped her relax by emitting my BO. I focus on that; sending her waves of ocean scent. I can see her calm down a bit. Ammon grasps my hand and Reilly's hand. Just like before, the space around us blurs, Diana and Reilly both yawn to pop their ears, and in a few seconds we are back at camp.  
Martin and Mark are the first to see us. They rush over.  
"What happened?" Mark asks.  
"She was experiencing PTSD at her house so I gave her something to help her calm down," Reilly tells them. Martin smiles at Reilly and gestures for him to come closer.  
"What?" Reilly asks whilst casually walking over to Martin. Martin backhands Reilly so hard that Ammon's brother falls to the ground. Martin signs something with a furious expression.  
"Martin says: No one messes with my sister and gets away with it!" Mark translates before kicking Reilly in the face. "And as her future brother in law, I say: No one messes with my boyfriend's sister and gets away with it!"  
Mark takes Diana away from me and swings her over his shoulder like a baby.  
"How about we go to her new room to let her rest?" Mark suggests. Martin nods. Without listening to our objections they head towards the Dionysus cabin. Ammon picks up Reilly, helping him stand. He eyes his brother.  
"Remember whose side you are on and how bad of a situation Diana is right now. She has her dead brother inside her head telling her things to lower her self esteem, she fears most of her old friends, and she has a fear of needles but is the one in the group who has had to face them the most. All you are doing is giving her a short-term release from all of the shit in her life!" Ammon starts calm but ends with intensity. I gently touch his arm, bringing him back to our world. Ammon takes a deep breath.  
"I will have to tell Kacey. Eva, you want to come?"  
I smile at him.  
"I think I should tell the others what happened; they are anxious to hear," I lightly tell him. Ammon nods and we go our separate ways leaving Reilly in the forest. The last thing I hear him say, barely audible, is:  
"I'm sorry."


	21. Mysterious Bonds

Sandra’s POV  
Joselyn punches the wall so hard that it cracks a bit.  
"That ASSHOLE!" she mutters. Marie cracks her knuckles. Cole lights his hands.  
"Juro próxima vez que vea que idiota me voy a la luz de él como un partido y luego malvaviscos asados sobre su cuerpo ardiendo y lo arrojaron a la hoguera. De esta manera todo el mundo puede asar malvaviscos y verlo quemar!" Cole rants. Joselyn cracks a smile at her boyfriend while the rest of us look at Cole with confusion. Ajax wraps me in a hug. Nathan hugs Marie and his brother. Aelix is too stunned to do anything.  
"Anyway, after Diana sent them to Russia, Reilly found a secret basement with a bunch of weapons with Diana's blood on them and some funky liquids. Diana started flipping out and having a mini panic attack. Reilly sedated her a bit after she experienced the PTSD and then we left. Now Diana is in her room. We are all to take shifts watching her like we have. Make sure no one sedates her or anything. Although if the PTSD or the Voices get too out of hand, you may sedate her. Nathan and Aelix have the most shifts because they can block out the fear." Evaline reports.  
"Now if you will excuse me, I've got some textbooks to read. Sandra and Nathan are on first watch."  
Nathan and I look at each other from across the Meeting Room. We are the first to stand after Evaline exits.  
"We should bring her some books. Not just textbooks but like novels," he says. We start off towards the Dionysus cabin.  
"Like what?" I ask.  
"She has a few series she is reading; The Mortal Instruments, Hunger Games, Divergent, Infernal Devices, and The Fault in Our Stars. We should get her the ones she doesn't have," he suggests. "In fact I will meet you at her cabin."  
With that, Nathan runs off to the Hermes cabin leaving me looking at his receding figure with confusion.  
"I guess the only option is to go see Dae," I think out loud.  
Maybe I could play her some relaxing music on my clarinet? I continue to the Dionysus cabin.  
Derrek greets me at the door. He has a deep green shirt on, with dark blue jeans. His hair is all messed up. No other sons of Dionysus are in sight.  
"Where is everyone?" I ask.  
"Martin won't allow anyone except Diana's friends, me, Mitchell, and Mark to see Dae," he replies. "Is Nathan or Aelix here? Diana's having terrors but she is relaxed. She won't wake up!" Derrek sounds close to tears.  
"Nathan is getting her some books, and will be here shortly," I assure him. Derrek leads me to a door under Greg's old bed; stairs are beyond the open door.  
"She is down here," Derrek tells me. I enter her bedroom alone.  
Martin and Mark are sitting by Diana's bedside holding hands. The room currently has 5 beds, a bookshelf, a lab table and some old lab equipment in boxes along the far wall. Dae looks calm except for the tears on her cheeks and the sweat glistening on the exposed body parts.  
"How is she?" I ask. Mark turns to me.  
"The sooner a child of Phobos gets here, the sooner she can be out of her misery," he tells me. We hear quick footsteps cross the ceiling and thud hurriedly down the stairs. Aelix enters with a tray of food and drinks.  
"I brought you all supper," he dismissively says, setting it down on the lab table. As we head towards the food, Aelix snuggles in next to Dae. She cuddles into him, and Aelix soon falls unconscious (just like he did in the Hecate cabin). Diana's facial expression goes from strain to slightly terrified. Aelix holds her tight and close.  
The food he brought is freshly made pasta with a mini cheesecake for dessert. I sit at the table awkwardly while Mark and Martin talk about the Aphrodite cabin's Halloween plans. Apparently there is going to be a haunted house in the Hades cabin, and Martin tells Mark about how the Dionysus cabin is going to host the Halloween party (Mark tells me what Martin is signing). The Aphrodite cabin is hosting the Halloween contest.  
"If people can shape shift into an animal they aren't allowed to do that. Justin Frank turned into an owl last year," Mark tells us. "There's going to be a couples contest, a singles contest, and different categories within them."  
"Sounds cool," I say.  
"Oh it will be!" Mark gleefully smiles. "I'm thinking we should go as two mimes. I wouldn't be able to talk for a whole day!"  
Martin chuckles. Mark takes a bite of cheesecake.  
I hear footsteps come down the stairs. Nathan enters with a big backpack on his back. He sets it down roughly, causing it to make a THUD sound. Diana awakens from her slumber, lurching into a sitting position as if in pain. It lasts only a few seconds before she hurriedly takes in her surroundings. She looks surprised that Aelix is there yet not super surprised. Almost as if she sensed him.  
"I found every book to every series she likes," Nathan announces.  
"You brought me books?!" Diana exclaims from her bed. She climbs over (still sleeping) Aelix to get to the books, keeping a wary eye on me. She starts putting the books onto the bookshelf she has. Aelix groggily rolls over to his side and smiles lovingly at Diana.  
"Honey, what do you say to Nathan?" Mark calls.  
"Thank you Nathan!" Diana calls like an excited kid at Christmas. Most of the books are hard cover. Once all of the books are in place, Diana pulls out one called 'City of Fallen Angels', sits on her bed, and starts reading. Aelix brushes a hair out of her face.  
"Your hair is so... Short!" He comments. Dae nods, probably didn't even hear him.  
"Diana, do you want some food?" I call, gesturing to the container labelled 'Diana Summers'. Diana looks up at the food, starring at it for a minute.  
"No," she decides.  
"Is that your answer or Greg's?" Nathan calmly asks.  
"Mine," Diana replies robotically. She goes back to reading her book. Aelix and Nathan whisper in hushed tones and from the bits and pieces I hear, I believe they are catching up on each other. I stare at Diana's plate as I finish my dessert. They sent her pizza with grapes and grape juice. Probably to help the healing process. I take the food over to Diana, snatch the book out of her hand, and place the food onto her lap. She protests but with a partially scared expression.  
"No book until you eat," I tell her as if telling a child. Diana pouts.  
"I don't need to eat," she states.  
"Yes, you do! Greg and whoever is in your head right now are only trying to ruin and possibly kill you!" I say.  
"What do you care? You didn't seem to care when you were torturing me!" she bursts.  
"I care because you are one of my best friends! I care because your memory has been tampered with! I care because you can't see that Eva, Josie and I would never hurt you!" I am almost yelling. There is a ten minute silence.  
"I'm off to train," Diana decides. She is about to magic out but I stop her.  
"Someone has to go with you. You can choose."  
Nathan and Diana get swallowed in a purple mist.  
Mark and Aelix leave shortly after, Martin returns to his bunk. I decide to head back to my cabin to play my clarinet (my stress reliever).  
When I get to my cabin I realize that everyone is still at supper. I can play my clarinet as loud as I want!  
A buzz in my pocket distracts me from playing. Picking up my phone I see I have received a text from Marie. It reads:  
Nathan and I finally got Diana to eat something. She had a piece of pizza and three bottles of water. I had to Charmspeak her. Just thought I would let you know.  
-Marie

Eva’s POV  
After supper, Marie and I decide to study the textbooks together. Percy and Annabeth are off with Nico and Leo, Stew and my new brother are out in the ocean, so Marie and I get the whole cabin to ourselves. Due to the enormity of the textbooks, I text Josie and Ammon to come help and they agree. The one I have is labelled 'Cursed Answers'. Not a very hopeful title. In the Table of Contents, it tells me to turn to page 385 to find ways to end a binding curse (with a person). I skim past the literal bonding curses that have very accurate pictures of conjoined people to the soul/mind bonding ones. From what I can see, they are all elaborate and involve months of preparation. I go down the list of descriptions until I find one called 'Bind del Alma Hermano'. I use a translator app; it tells me that the title is 'Bind of Soul Siblings'.  
"I found it!" I exclaim. They all crowd around the entry I found. It says:

If casted by a child of Hecate, there are a few ways to end this Binding curse.  
1) Get the Hecate kid who put it on them to undo it  
2) get them to break the bond by cutting off the mark. Note; the person will have to cut it off themselves  
3) get them to kill the person they are bonded with. All blows that aren't killing blows will not work  
4) they kill the person who put the bond on the person  
5)the bonded person has to murder three hundred twenty one innocents (mortals)

I can't see Diana doing any of these. Especially not #2. We could get her to 3 and 4, but not number one or five. We all know this, even Ammon.  
"So," Joselyn says "how are we going to get Diana to kill her scum douche from hell of a brother?"  
"Waking him up would be enough," Marie chides.  
"How would we do that?" Ammon asks.  
"We could see if Diana's bond can help?" I suggest. "What if she could WILL him to wake up?"  
They all think about that.  
"I think that would work..." Ammon finally thinks out loud after a long, painfully awkward silence. We decide to get her to try it tomorrow. With all the stress lately we haven't gotten much sleep. I keep having this recurring dream of a masked figure stabbing Dae with a sword. Percy and Stew have sometimes woke me up from it by dumping water on me. Tonight isn't any different.

As per usual I awake to a drenched bed, Stew and Percy starring at me with concern, and a sliver of fear. I brush it off as per usual and leave to the bathroom where I know they won't follow me. I take a refreshing shower, dry my hair, and put on an outfit for today. The boys are gone by the time I get out. I grab Tsunami before leaving. Josie, Marie, and Kacey all join me to meet Sandra and Diana at the hospital. It's strange how coordinated we all are; everyone is wearing Jean shorts and CHB shirts. Diana looks like she didn't sleep well and as if Sandra dressed her and dragged her to the infirmary. But it looks as if Sandra somehow has gained Diana's trust.  
"What do you want me to do again?" she grumpily asks, not fully awake yet.  
"Wake up your brother," Kacey answers. This wakes her right up.  
"No! I won't do that!" She protests.  
"Even if it may explain or help your memory loss?" Marie says, giving Diana a stare that says 'do it now and I'll buy you an ice cream later'. Diana walks right up to the bed, passing the boundary. She looks nervous and hesitantly down at her unconscious brother's body. A purple light starts glowing from her hands.  
"Sleeping brother in the bed  
Let me convince that evil head  
To wake up and not be dead  
I call on my power  
So we may tower  
Above Ares"  
A blinding light emits from Ugene, and I cover my eyes. When I uncover them, Diana's skin is charred black, she looks surprised, and Ugene is still passed out. We all stare blankly at them. A clicking noise echoes from down the hallway. Ginnifer enters in a tie dyed tee, blue jeans, a rainbow scarf and high heel black boots. She looks at Dae and chuckles.  
"Girl, what are you doing? That spell doesn't work!" with that, Ginnifer snaps her fingers. Ugene suddenly bolts to a sitting position, breathing heavy, his eyes bulging out of his sockets.  
"Why... Didn't... You do that in the FIRST PLACE?!" Marie exclaims. Ginnifer looks at her as if it is obvious.  
"You never asked..."  
Ugene looks to Diana for a hug, but she runs to a position behind Sandra.  
"Come here dearest sister!" Ugene coos. He stares at Diana like a lion looking at hostage deer he is about to eat. Diana drops to the floor, covers her ears, and screams. Sandra kneels next to her; Diana is wide eyed and is looking at her brother like someone who killed her family. Ugene gets out of the bed to approach his sister but after taking two steps, smacks into the magical cage wall. He looks stunned.  
"What in the name of Ares is this?!" he exclaims.  
"You can't get out of the cage. It's like Chris' but it doesn't do any trades," Ginnifer answers. She curtsies. “Your welcome.”  
"Speaking of magic, can I talk to you Ginnifer?" Kacey asks out of the blue. They leave the infirmary.  
"So, Diana, how the"- Ugene taps his head- "voices going? Getting along well?" he smirks wickedly. Diana stops screaming and slowly stands up. With an extending of her arms, a purple mist curls and slithers out of her fingers. They form a hand that picks Ugene up.  
"There is one I would like to get rid of right now," she states calmly. She smiles "in fact, its one voice that, when silenced, would do many people a favor."  
The hand wraps around Ugene's throat.  
"Oh, dear sister you do know that if you break the bond it would mean Ares would have complete control of you."  
"You're lying; you just want me to let go of my hold on you." Diana says through gritted teeth. "I have the power to control my own destiny. I WON'T be controlled by some God, I WILL gain my memory back, and I WON'T let you get away!"  
"Your mental health is deteriorating; you have self harmed a lot"-he lifts his sleeve to reveal that is forearm is shredded-"The tenfold rule of our bond is proof. Also, I know about the Voices. In fact, I know who is causing them and how to get rid of them." he spits. We all gawk at his arm; we can see muscle and bone!  
The hand squeezes tighter.  
"How?!" Diana demands through gritted teeth. Her face is starting to turn red.  
"Let me down before you kill us," Ugene states, his face turning beet red. Something flashes in Diana's eyes and she sets him down on his bed. Ugene looks to Sandra.  
"Honey, could you please bandage my arm? It's quite painful." He asks sweetly sour. A clicking noise comes from down the hallway. Sandra approaches Diana's brother wearily; he smiles wickedly.  
"No tricks for the whole time you are in the cage. I swear it on the Styx," Ugene says. Sandra proceeds to bandage Ugene's ruined wrist. Diana runs for the garbage can and by the sounds she is making, the little food that was in her has now evacuated through her mouth. Good to see she still has her squeamish quality.  
"Diaaaanaaaaa," Ginnifer's voice rings, echoing in the infirmary. Diana wipes her mouth off and straightens up.  
"Yeah?"  
Ginnifer strides up, links arm with her, and beams.  
"I am your new magic teacher! Classes start right away, so let's get to it!" a green smoke swirls up their bodies and they disappear. Sandra is done bandaging by now.  
"Thank you," Ugene says. He waves a hand over his arm; a mist swallows his forearm. When it clears, Ugene's arm is perfectly fine. We all gawk.  
"Oh yeah! I forgot to mention that the bond allows me to borrow her powers."  
What? How is this possible?  
Ugene walks THROUGH the forcefield.  
"Amazing what a bond and some acting can accomplish!"  
Suddenly the windows darken and the door locks. Anything that we can use as a weapon is removed magically from the room. Ugene circles us-all frozen- like we are desserts he is trying to decide on eating. With a snap of his fingers the lights turn off. Something hits me in the head. Hard. The last thing I see before blacking out is Ugene's glowing green eyes.

Diana’s POV  
They are staring at me. All five guys, sitting around the Hecate cabin, critiquing me harshly.  
"You've been at it for an hour! You failure!"  
"You can't do it!"  
"You aren't focused!"  
"You're going to kill someone innocent!"  
Ginnifer doesn't stop them; she probably doesn't know they exist. Greg, and four other brothers are now in my head, are yelling at me that I'm a slut, I deserve to die, and that I'm a worthless piece of shit along with various other things to lower my self esteem.  
Ginnifer is starting to notice that I'm having a hard time focusing. She sits down on a nearby bunk like a therapist.  
"Diana, I know something is on your mind," She states. She glares at me, I feel as if she is looking into my soul, seeing every fibre of my being.  
I don't know why but I totally break.  
"Everyone tells me that my memory is messed up, and I really want to believe them.... But I can't. Eva, Sandra, and Joselyn seem like good people but how do I know that they aren't going to come out and hurt me? On top of that my dead brother is still in my head with four others. I know they are my brothers only because of the resemblance to Greg and Martin, and Ugene. They keep telling me how much I suck."  
"Wait, how many of your brothers are in your head?" Ginnifer interrupts.  
"Four," I reply.  
"Do you know their names?" she asks.  
Could you all at least tell me your names? I think. They oblige.  
"The one sitting on the top bunk says his name is Xavier," I point "The one standing near the bathroom says his name is Ralph. The one that is sitting next to you says his name is John, and the one sitting on the floor near the window is Castor," I tell her.  
She looks like a lightbulb just turned on in her head.  
"All of those brothers... They are all dead," Ginnifer says.  
There is a small silence.  
"So?" I ask.  
"So, whenever a brother dies, they appear in your head to torment you! THAT's how they are planning on controlling you!" Ginnifer exclaims. She grabs my wrist, hulling me to the bathroom, fills up the sink, pulls out a drachma, and says  
"Please Iris, accept my offering. I wish to talk to Evaline Malone, Sandra Anderson, and Joselyn Hunt."  
I remember Iris messages! A circle appears over the sink. It shimmers for a few seconds before showing us a blackened room. A bunch of my brothers are passed out, lying along the wall with numbers. The only two I recognize are Martin and Derrek. Martin has the number 29, Derrek has the number 20. In the middle of the room are four bodies. One is Eva, one is Sandra, one is Joselyn, and one is Kacey. They are unconscious, tied to chairs, and have bruises and blood on them. We hear a snicker.  
"Why hello, dear sister!" Ugene walks into the screen. He is in a tux, has his hair slicked back and an evil smile to his face. "I have been expecting you to call!"  
"What are you doing to them?!" I exclaim, a rage boiling inside of me.  
"Well, you see dear sister, if you surrender yourself, then I will let them go. If not, then..." he walks over to Joselyn. "I am going to have a little fun. Josie is the feisty one. She will have to be awake when I torture her with my big weapon..."  
"YOU SICK BASTURD!" I scream.  
"How do you remember them?" Ugene asks.  
"As people who tortured me, BUT that doesn't mean I can't be a good person who stops someone from having to put up with you!"  
He chuckles deeply.  
"The only way for you to get them back is for you AND Reilly to surrender. You know where I am; you have until the next full moon," Ugene cryptically says.  
With that, the Iris message disappears.  
Ginnifer hugs me.  
"Let's go get Marie, Ajax, Cole, Ammon, Reilly, Justin and his girlfriend Skylar Fitzner. They can help."

We find Marie with Justin and Skylar. Ammon, Ajax, Cole, and Reilly are training. Ginnifer explains what happened to all of them, leaving out the whole 'surrender' part, and they luckily oblige to help us. Mitchell helps us get ready and asks to join us. I agree, seeing that Kacey is his girlfriend.  
I know where they are. Judging by the wall in the back and the chairs my supposed 'friends' are tied to, they are at my house (specifically the basement). Just as I am attaching a quiver to my back and strapping a sheath of throwing knives to my leg (I'm experimenting with weapons), a wave of that feeling I had earlier comes. I feel as if I have been hit by a bus and as if my blood is turning to lead. A new person joins the crew inside my head.  
"Who are you?" I ask. Marie looks at me.  
"Diana? It's Marie. Are you okay?"  
My eyes focus on her instead of the guy checking her out.  
My name is Pedro, but my number was 1, he answers.  
"Yep... I'm fine."  
She gives me a doubting look.  
The new guy comes up to me (while the other guys scream at him not to) and touches my shoulder; I shudder.  
"You sure you are okay?"  
I nod and force a smile.  
"Yup. Just a little cold," I lie.  
The new guy chuckles.  
You are going to kill one of your friends today, he says. Pedro hugs me so that almost every limb is matching up to mine.  
No I'm not!, I think. The others join in now intrigued at what Pedro has done.  
Yes you are! They all say in a creepy unison.  
Will it be Marie? Pedro asks.  
Justin? Ralph suggests.  
Ajax? Xavier questions  
Ammon? Greg ponders.  
Cole? Castor whispers  
Reilly? Pedro says.  
"Diana, do you want my jacket?" Ammon innocently asks from behind me, startling me. Greg grabs my head and he takes over. I judo flip Ammon, and then pin him while I trap everyone to the ground with vines. I take out a throwing knife and point the tip to his jugular.  
Do it! Greg whispers. I place the tip onto his skin; moisture forms on Ammon's forehead.  
GOOD GIRL!  
KILL HIM!  
YOU ARE POWERFUL!  
GET YOUR VENGEANCE ON EVA BY KILLING HER BOYFRIEND!  
PULL YOUR ARM BACK FOR MORE MOMENTUM! The voices scream. I pull back my arm, ready to strike. I’m going to get my revenge, starting with Ammon. Then I'll cut Cole and Ajax off. I will cut everyone off and help Ares rule Olympus. Ares is a good man that deserves to be rewarded for his kindness. Maybe I could become his queen? We could rule the world together, I on land and Lord Ares in Olympus! We would turn the other gods mortal and kill them or cut them up before dumping the scalloped gods into Tartarus.  
YES! YES! They cheer.  
Ammon looks up at me with pleading blue eyes that look lost and scared.  
Diana, this isn't you... A familiar voice breaks through all the screaming. I bring the knife up higher.  
"Diana, don't turn into the monster they want you to become!" Ammon says desperately. His bright blue eyes remind me of something...

"Snow White, this is Evaline Malone," Joselyn gestures to one of the girls standing to my left. Evaline is staring at me with soft blue-green eyes, filled with questioning as if she wants to ask me a whole bunch of things but at the same time doesn't want to be too demanding. She has light brown hair that falls into curls just past her shoulders.  
"And this is Sandra Anderson." Joselyn gestures to the girl on the right of Evaline. This girl has chestnut brown, curly hair that hangs in a ponytail at the moment -in the ponytail it just brushes the bottom of her neck. She has brown eyes which are looking at me with an expression that says "I'm astonished you're alive!"

Ammon never hurt you, I think. None of them have.  
YES THEY HAVE! the voices scream. THEY ARE HOLDING YOU BACK FROM YOUR DESTINY!  
The destiny you are choosing for me. I choose my own destiny, I think to them.  
I throw the knife at a nearby tree and detract all of the vines. Everyone collapses to the ground. I flop to the space next to Ammon. Marie, Sky, Justin and Reilly help me up as Ajax and Cole check on Ammon.  
"I-I'm sorry," is all I can say.  
"Was that you or the Voices?" Justin asks.  
"It was the voices. But I don't know how they did that; I can usually keep them at bay."  
Greg and the others look like they are trying to speak but can't.  
Silence suits you assholes, I think to them. Ammon looks a bit shaken but offers me a smile.  
"I'm sorry," I say to him. I go over and awkwardly hug him.  
"This is the first time I've been hugged by you," Ammon says thoughtfully "It's just how Aelix said."  
I part from him.  
Aelix... Oh yeah! He's the one who helps keep the nightmares away when it isn't Nathan. He is also the only guy I feel super comfortable with. I don't know what it is, but I just have this feeling that what Sandra said yesterday-that we are dating- is true. And if that's true, then the parts about Eva, Josie and Sandra being my friends, NOT torturers, should be true as well, I figure out. Also, I'm more afraid of Ugene than I am of them. I lead my team out of the weapons area, now that we have all our weapons and armor. The others struggle to keep up with me.  
"Where exactly are we going?" Sky asks.  
"To my house," I call back. People gather to see our group off. The one they told me is Percy approaches me.  
"Find my sister," he sounds almost in tears.  
"I will." I firmly tell him. I hear Percy's wife telling Justin to be safe. Mark approaches me in full battle armor, a spear in hand.  
"May I join? Ugene does have my boyfriend," he asks.  
"Of course."  
Ammon pops up a van for us to travel in. We decide that I am to drive, seeing that the boys don't remember the way to my house. I put the key into the ignition. I look back at my team.  
"You all ready to kick some ass?"

No One’s POV  
Ares, Patrick, and Chris stand around a ball of magic. In the ball, they watch as Diana tackles Ammon Nikomedes, traps everyone else in vines, and places a blade to Ammon's throat. Chris inputs what the five voices in Diana's head should say, telling Diana to kill Ammon. He makes it so that they scream in her head and using magic, takes control. They watch Diana draw back her hand to strike.  
"Excellent," Ares grins maliciously. He puts his hands together over his nose and mouth.  
When Diana hesitates, Ares grin fades.  
"What is she doing? Make her strike!"  
"Diana, don't turn into the monster they want you to become!" They hear Ammon say desperately. They watch in horror as a part of Diana's memory comes back to her. Suddenly, the voices stop. No matter how hard or how much magic Chris tries, Diana keeps the control from happening. Patrick tries to help, but she overpowers both their magic. Diana throws the knife at a nearby tree, detracts the vines, and collapses on the ground next to Ammon.  
Patrick makes the magic ball disappear. The four guys-Ares, Patrick, Chris, and Ryan Clark- all head downstairs to the basement. Chris smiles at his twin brother, Jefferey, who transforms back into Ugene. The real Ugene is in a cage, his mother beside him, in the corner of the room; both passed out cold.  
"Brother, are you ready to put on a show?" Chris asks.  
"The same show as the past six months? Of course!" says Jeffery Nealson. The two boys begin to train in magic together.  
Meanwhile, Patrick is checking in on all the hostages, as Ryan and Ares look at their accomplishment.  
"Diana is strong," Ryan states, sounding impressed. Ares grabs him by throat.  
"Yes but we are stronger. If she isn't ready by the Winter Solstice, I will have both of your heads mounted on a plaque and hung with the others. Her friends are the only ones able to get through to her about how to change her Fate. So unless she kills them, all these 17 years of planning will be for nothing. Her willpower and embodiment is strong which makes her a good host. Her blood and extra Dionysus ichor makes her powerful. Diana was blessed by Hecate and currently has the most powerful and rare magic known. She has extremely good aim. All the ingredients. Without her, Kronos will never return.”


End file.
